Call Me
by Bridlin
Summary: Set during and after 'Hunt' so spoilers up to that episode. 'As Kate stared at the phone in her hand, its edges became blurred and the screen drifted out of focus. She closed her eyes hoping that would somehow stabilise the room that had begun to swim around her head. She reached back to steady herself on the desk but her hand connected with nothing but air as her knees buckled.
1. Chapter 1

**I've been filling in some of the gaps in 'Hunt' in my head. This is what I imagine might have happened after Kate's truncated phone call to Castle in Paris. A bit melodramatic perhaps, but why not? I don't own these characters. Shame.**

Chapter 1

As Kate stared at the phone in her hand, its edges became blurred and the screen drifted out of focus. She closed her eyes hoping that would somehow stabilise the room that had begun to swim around her head. She reached back to steady herself on the desk but her hand connected with nothing but air as her knees buckled.

'Beckett! Kate!' Esposito seemed to be talking to her from a long way away. She should answer but she couldn't make her lips move.

'Put her on the couch in my office. Ryan, get some water.'

Strong arms scooped her up and carried her a few steps before gently lowering her on to Gates' couch. A cushion was placed behind her head. She should open her eyes. They were worried about her and she should tell them she was OK. But that was the trouble; she was far from OK. If she opened her eyes she'd have to confront what had just happened and she couldn't do that. Not yet. If she spoke about it, it would become real.

'Has she had any sleep?' Gates asked.

'I doubt it. She's hardly left here since this all started and not at all since Castle went AWOL,' Esposito replied.

'Did you see what happened?'

'She was trying to call Castle to tell him about the photos. Next thing I knew she was just dropping.'

'You did well to catch her before she hit the floor, Esposito.'

'How is she?' Kevin joined the conversation and she could hear the worry in his voice.

'I'm fine,' she said, forcing herself to look at their anxious faces. Even to her own ears, her voice sounded weak and wavering. She tried to sit up but met the gentle resistance of a hand on her shoulder.

'Just relax a while, Detective,' Gates said, and Kate closed out the world again, taking brief comfort in the darkness. She rested her head on the cushion and took a couple of shaky deep breaths as she tried to overcome the wave of nausea that hit her.

'I'm glad to hear it, Detective, but just stay there a few moments.' The concern in Gates' voice almost undid her and she bit her lip as she felt it start to quiver.

She swallowed and swung her feet to the floor, putting her hand up to silence Gates' objections. She raised her eyes slowly from the floor to look at each of them in turn. 'I was talking to him and then there was a crack. Like a… like a gunshot. Then the line just went dead.' She took the glass of water Kevin was holding down to her and sipped. Her hand was trembling and she put the glass down, not wanting them to witness her weakness. Sympathy would destroy the little composure she had.

'There could be a lot of explanations. Let's not jump to conclusions. Did he tell you where he was?' Kate put her elbows on her knees and covered her face with her hands shaking her head slowly from side to side in reply to Gates' question.

With a nod of her head, Gates signalled to the two men to leave them alone and she pulled a chair up to sit close to Kate.

'Castle has learnt an awful lot from his years of following you around, Beckett. From what I've seen he's pretty good at looking after himself.'

'I know, Sir, but he's not thinking straight.'

'So you have to think straight for both of you. I know that this is really tough on you. I watched you interrogate that woman earlier and I think I have some idea about what this means to you. You've done a great job of supporting your partner but you need to look after yourself. You need to eat and you need to get some sleep.'

'I'm not leaving, Sir.' Kate clenched her jaw.

'I'm not asking you to. Just lie down in here for a little while. Everyone here is working flat out. You'll be no use to anyone if you carry on like this. I promise we'll wake you if there's anything new. Please, Beckett.'

'I have to find out what has happened to Castle.' Kate was unable to keep the tremor from her voice.

'And we'll do everything we can to do that but right now you're going to get some rest.'

'Sir…'

'That's an order, Detective. You're no good to Castle or Alexis if you drive yourself into the ground.'

Kate squeezed her eyes tight to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill out. She had been strong for both of them as long as she knew – or she could imagine – that he was alright. But now…

'Kate, we don't know what's happened but we're not going to give up. Please just rest for a little while. I'll get some food brought to you. Take a little time.' Gates rested her hand on her arm for a moment before getting up and pulling the door closed behind her.

She lay down on the couch again and blocked out the world.

* * *

'Kate, it's him.' Ryan held her phone out to her and she looked up at him, dazed. There was an untouched sandwich on the table beside her. When did that arrive? She must have slept. How could she when he needed her? 'Kate!' She looked at the screen Ryan held in front of her face and snatched it from him.

'Castle?'

'Kate, listen.' His voice. He wasn't dead. Thank God, he wasn't dead.

'Castle, what happened?' she asked, struggling to get enough breath to speak.

'I can't go into it all now but I'm alright. We've got a plan…'

'Who's we?'

'I'll tell you later but if this works, I'll get Alexis back tonight.'

'What's going on, Castle? If what works? What if it doesn't?'

'Don't worry. It'll be fine but if… you'll look after my mother, won't you? I've got to go now. I love you.'

'Look after… Castle? Rick? I love you too,' she whispered to the buzzing line.

**A touch angsty but we all know that it'll end happily ever after. Let me know what you think and whether it's worth me continuing with how I think things should have happened after the end of 'Hunt' - though first I think I might have a look at things from Gates' perspective. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

'Call me, OK? Just call me,' Kate had said when she'd first spoken to Castle in Paris. So, she'd waited but he hadn't called and when she'd phoned him he didn't pick up. Until he did and then it was too late because she'd heard him die. But now he had called her and her relief that he was still alive was so immense she'd felt like her bones had turned to sponge but, as she held the silent phone, she wondered if he'd ever call her again.

Look after his mother? If Castle and Alexis didn't come home – or if one came back without the other – there would be no looking after anyone because they would all be broken beyond repair. Kate knew all about how your life could change in a second. She'd felt that awful hollow dread begin again when Alexis' ring tone had reached them across the room. She'd felt it before Castle had begun to realise what it might mean. And then she'd seen it on his face; first the disbelief and then the fear. If they didn't find Alexis he would never be the same man again. He would always be damaged like she was. He'd helped her mend some of her damage and to deal with what couldn't be healed but she'd seen enough bereaved parents to know that nothing she could do would begin to heal him. Some parents managed to cope, to find some purpose to life after the violent loss of a child, but not many and not Castle.

Was it just a couple of days since she'd picked him up on her way to what they'd thought was just another crime scene? She'd instinctively smiled when she'd seen him waiting on the sidewalk and she'd felt that now familiar tingle that came with even the lightest touch of his lips as he'd kissed her before they'd driven away to start what they'd thought would be just another day of murder, wild theories and banter, all edged with the anticipation of an evening spent together at her place or his. Location didn't matter. She'd rolled her eyes at his claims that he'd accepted that Alexis needed to test her wings without him, amused he could even begin to suggest that he would ever be anything but an over-protective father. But the mood had turned darker when they'd realised they were dealing with a kidnapping. Castle had empathized with Sara's parents, as he always did in cases involving children, and then they had discovered that Alexis had been taken too and the darkness had deepened to an all-encompassing blackness.

She'd watched him change. The pain that was etched upon his face, the droop of his usually strong shoulders, the loss of the bounce in his step, all those things hurt her more than she'd ever have imagined possible. And she had her own fears for the daughter of her lover. Alexis was part of her life too. The whole team was affected because they all cared about the girl but their feelings were nothing compared to Castle's agony.

'Gates will see,' he'd said as they'd hugged and she'd said she didn't care because she truly didn't. Whether Gates knew about them or not was irrelevant. The thought wasn't even pushed to the back of her mind; it was pushed right out. All that mattered was that she gave him what little comfort she could even though she knew that it would never be enough. There was only one thing that would help him and she knew what she had to do. She had to get his daughter back and she'd tried to compartmentalise so that she could do her job but all her years as a police officer and her own experience of terrible loss had not prepared her for the impotence she felt at seeing him hurting so much. She was consumed by a desire to take his pain away and distraught by her powerlessness because she knew she couldn't.

When she'd seen the blood in the van, it had taken all her willpower not to breakdown and then she'd had an overwhelming urge to protect Castle from the horror of it. She knew that the respite could only be temporary but she wasn't going to tell him anything until she knew more. Lanie was closer to Alexis than any of them and Kate prepared her for what she was going to see and the two women held each other tight for a moment before the Medical Examiner set to work. Kate knew that Lanie would have to block out any thought that she could be looking at Alexis' blood and she gained a little strength from that until Castle arrived because, oh God, he shouldn't see this. The relief she'd felt when it wasn't his daughter's blood felt like their first small triumph but it was short-lived because they still had no idea where the girls were.

He'd closed her out but she of all people understood that and she didn't take it personally. It didn't stop her being angry with him when he'd taken off to Paris without her but it was anger tempered with understanding. Looking back, she should have realised what he'd do because she would have done the same. The only surprise had been his ability to do what was necessary to get Stevens to talk. He hadn't told her what he'd done and he didn't need to, and it had saved her dealing with the issue herself. She didn't think that the scumbag would complain but if he did she wouldn't hesitate to say that he was lying, that she'd been with them the whole time and that nothing had happened.

While Castle had been with her, she'd stayed calm for him but when he'd gone she'd started to lose control. She'd shown her anger when Agent Harris had suggested that she be prepared to 'manage expectations'. That would be giving up and she had no intention of giving up. But that had been nothing to the rage she'd felt when DeGarmo had tried to stonewall her. She guessed that Ryan or Esposito would have stopped her before she'd gone too far but she hadn't cared about that. She needed a lead and she was determined that DeGarmo would tell her what she knew – whatever it might take.

'Beckett, what did he say?' She hadn't moved from Gates' couch since the phone call and she didn't notice Ryan come back into the room. Esposito was just behind him and they both looked equally worried.

'He said er… he said he was going to get Alexis back tonight.' She looked at her watch. It was 2pm so it was already 8pm in Paris. Whatever he was doing would be happening soon. 'Any new leads?'

'No. Nothing,' Ryan said, shaking his head, jaw clenched.

'How's he going to get her back?' Esposito asked.

'He didn't say, Javi. I just hope he knows what he's doing. I'm going to see Martha. Keep me posted.' They both nodded as she passed them on her way back to the bullpen.

* * *

'Any news?' Martha asked as soon as she saw Kate at the door.

'I spoke to him, Martha. He's OK.' The older woman's chin wobbled. She no longer looked like a sprightly, exuberant woman. Every line on her face seemed to be accentuated and, for the first time since Kate had met her, she looked every year of her age. Kate instinctively hugged her and they clung to each other, each trying to keep her emotions in check.

'And Alexis?' Martha asked, keeping an arm around Kate's waist as she led her into the loft. Kate glanced across at the FBI team who were still in place although they didn't look like they expected anything good to happen. Kate knew the score, if the kidnappers didn't get in touch within the first 24 hours the chances of them doing so were next to zero. She hadn't told Martha that they'd discovered that Alexis was the target and she wasn't going to. It would achieve nothing and would scare her even more. Castle had asked her to look after his mother and was going to do that now. It was the only thing she could think of that might give him a little comfort if he were to know.

'Rick's got a plan. I don't know what it is but he's working with someone and they're going to get her back soon.' She kept hold of Martha's hand as they sat beside each other in the study and she gave it a squeeze, stilling the tremble in the fragile fingers. 'We have to trust him, Martha. He wouldn't do anything to put Alexis in more danger.' Martha chewed at her thumb knuckle and closed her eyes but not before a single tear escaped onto her pale cheek.

Sitting in Castle's study, Kate felt closer to him. She was calmer now, perhaps because she had to be strong for Martha, and the fear that she felt was tinged with a tiny glimmer of hope that he really might be able to save Alexis without getting himself killed.

**Thank you for your kind reviews. They really are the best motivator. I got a bit side-tracked with this. My plan was a chapter from Gates' POV but as I'd started with Kate, I decided to continue with a look back at her journey. Please let me know what you think. I'm planning Gates' POV next.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Captain Gates took a sip of her coffee and looked out from her office door at the bustling hub of activity in the bullpen. The men and women in front of her always had a serious job and dark gallows humour was one of the communal coping strategies they employed to help them survive time spent submerged in the grimy of world of violence and murder, but today there was no room for clever one-liners or quick-fire quips. The atmosphere was grimly purposeful as everyone tried to find some lead that would help bring Castle back his little girl. They would have worked their behinds off for the sake of any young woman but Alexis was family and that added an extra intensity to their task. The realisation that the daughter of one of their own had been kidnapped had hit them all hard, including the Captain herself. She had never been Castle's biggest fan but after a year and a half of having him in her precinct, she appreciated that he could be very useful at times. Sift through the ridiculous theories he concocted and you'd shake out some nuggets that helped solve cases. His thought processes were a complete mystery to her and that was both why he was irritating and the basis of his worth.

But whatever else she might feel about him, she didn't doubt that he was a devoted father; Alexis was a credit to his parenting skills, not least as he'd brought the girl up without much input from her mother. Gates had been filled with both admiration and pity as she'd watched him leave the precinct to return to his home with the FBI team. His anguish was palpable but he bore himself with a solemn dignity that only served to increase the resolve of his friends and colleagues to rescue his daughter.

Alongside her respect for Castle, was pride in the small team who worked with him. They'd known the girl since she was fourteen years old, watched her grow into a young woman. Dr Parish was doing her usual professional job even though she'd become close to Alexis during her internship. Ryan and Esposito were working flat out; the only sign that this was different to any other case was the ruthless determination to get this job done that was written on their faces. And then there was Detective Beckett who somehow was holding it together and remaining focussed on the task before them.

Gates had known all about the outstanding young detective in the 12th precinct long before she'd taken over from Captain Montgomery. Smart, determined, fierce, professional - they were words that were associated with her name. She had a tragic history that was said to be the driving force in her single-minded pursuit of justice for victims. At first, the Captain had struggled to understand why such an outstanding detective would waste time with a man like Castle. His reasons for wanting to work at the precinct were obvious; his puppy-like devotion to the beautiful detective had been evident from the moment she'd seen them together. It had taken her longer to understand what Beckett gained from the partnership but, just as his value in helping to solve cases had become apparent over time, so had she come to recognise that he lightened the load for the detective in other ways. Sometimes Beckett seemed to teeter on the edge of a black pit from which only the writer could pull her back.

Gates' eyes rested on Kate who was chewing at her knuckle while reading something on her computer screen, and she wondered if she was approaching breaking point now. Her calm veneer had been fraying ever since she'd made it clear to Agent Harris that she was not ready to begin to prepare her partner for the worst – or 'manage expectations' as he described it. She was determined to do everything possible to find the girl and Gates wondered if, without Castle to help, she'd be able to rein her in. As she watched, the elevator doors opened and Beckett's head snapped up. Gates followed her gaze to the woman being escorted towards the interrogation rooms by Ryan and Esposito. This must be the girlfriend of the getaway driver and Gates hoped that she might give them something useful. There were in desperate need of some good news and time was running out.

* * *

'Do you think she knows anything about what her boyfriend was in to?' Gates asked, folding her arms as she took up her position at the window of the observation room.

'If she does, she's not going to give it up easily. She's not exactly an admirer of NYPD. She's got a foul mouth and a serious attitude problem. Beckett's not going to like that.' Esposito joined her at the window, and they watched in silence as Beckett tried to weave her magic on DeGarmo. It wasn't going smoothly and Ryan was fidgeting nervously behind them, clearly expecting that this confrontation was not going to end well. But so far Beckett was staying calm in the face of DeGarmo's insolence.

'_Listen bitch, I don't talk to cops. Now go get me my lawyer and go to h…'_

Bang! DeGarmo was sprawling on the floor. The three observers all took a sharp intake of breath and Ryan pulled the door open only to be stopped short by Gates' hand on his arm.

'Wait!'

The tension behind the mirror was sizzling but it was nothing compared to what they were watching.

'_My partner's daughter is missing and you are in my way. Now if you don't talk to cops, I'm not a cop today honey…'_

'Remind me never to get in Detective Beckett's way,' Gates said, as they watched DeGarmo crouch against the wall in fear. 'Unconventional but effective. Detectives, let me know if Detective Beckett needs to take a break from this case. In the meantime, you've got her back but I know I don't need to tell you that.'

She turned and left the room to their emphatic chorus of 'Yes, Sir.'

* * *

Gates wasn't surprised that Beckett's patience was wearing thin. She felt the frustration herself and she wasn't in love with the father of the kidnap victim. It had taken Gates a few months to realise that Beckett was as much in love with the writer as he, so obviously, was with his muse. She was usually quicker to pick up the signs but she thought she'd let her own prejudice against Castle colour her judgement. She'd found it hard to believe that Beckett could find him anything more than a bit amusing. She was confident that she'd worked it out before the couple had acknowledged their feelings to each other. When that had finally happened, she wasn't sure, but they were clearly a couple by the time 3XK had tried to frame Castle for murder. Beckett's complete belief in the man when so much evidence spoke otherwise, showed her unshakeable devotion to him.

That they were trying to hide their relationship from her was also obvious but little did they know that they'd been wholly unsuccessful. She'd lost count of how many times she'd had to pretend that she hadn't seen them exchange longing looks by the murder board and the softening of Beckett's face just at the sight of him arriving was proof that she wasn't a very good actress. It was also, Gates had to admit, rather touching to see her tough ace detective thaw at the mere sight of her lover. She'd even had to pretend that she hadn't caught Beckett playing with a glove he'd left on her desk like she was a lovesick schoolgirl. But they'd managed to maintain the semblance of a professional relationship in the office and that meant she could continue to feign ignorance even if sometimes she seemed to be doing their job for them; continuing to let them believe that she didn't know what was going on in the face of Castle's incompetence with Beckett's Valentine's gift, had stretched her ingenuity. Now, of course, it was harder. Beckett's love for the man had been on public display for the last couple of days. The hug that Gates had pretended not to see had been so much more than a colleague or friend showing their concern. The way she'd held his hand as they'd waited for news had been intimate and loving and her distress now he was out of reach and probably in danger in Paris, was heart-breaking. If they didn't find Alexis, none of this would matter but she, like everyone else here, was praying for the safe return of the girl and her father and then the Captain would have to decide how to handle the situation. In the meantime, they had a job to do.

**Many thanks again for your reviews and your continuing interest in my story. Writing this is helping to give me my Castle fix in this long hiatus before the next episode. I hope my take on what Captain Gates knows meets your expectations. Please let me know what you think. Next up – if there's enough interest – will probably be the return of Castle and Alexis to NY. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks so much for the reviews. It's great to know that you're enjoying this story and that so many people share the same view of Gates. Back to Martha and Kate now, waiting... **

Chapter 4

Kate checked her watch yet again. It was after six, already after midnight in Paris, and the tiny flicker of optimism that she'd allowed to spark was fading to a distant dimness. Her heart was desperately trying to convince her that Castle was alright and that he'd somehow rescued Alexis but she couldn't quieten the cop's voice in the head that was telling her that with every passing minute of silence, there was less chance that his plan had worked and that something too awful to contemplate had happened. Across the room, Martha was plying the FBI team with tea and her freshly baked cookies. The two women had spent the afternoon trying to keep busy. While Martha had baked, Kate had kept in touch with the precinct on her laptop. She'd warned everyone that they should only phone if they had something really important to pass on, so that if – when – Castle called he'd be able to get through. Her phone felt like a magnet in her pocket and she couldn't resist taking it out to make sure she hadn't missed a call, even though she knew it was impossible; she'd had it with her constantly.

'Kate darling, sit down and have some tea. You'll wear a hole in that rug and you know that it's Richard's favourite.'

Kate glanced down as if she genuinely thought that there might be a hole forming beneath her feet. She hadn't realised she'd been pacing. So much for appearing relaxed and calm in front of Martha. She joined Martha at the kitchen counter and watched as she poured tea through a strainer into two cups, finding a crumb of comfort in the ritual.

'I'd offer you a cookie but they're probably awful. I rarely bake. Richard... Richard's been telling me for years that my talents lay elsewhere and I know he's right, but sometimes I desperately need to give something a good beating.' They both attempted a smile and Kate wondered if her effort had looked as pathetic as Martha's.

If the last few days had seemed like a month, the hours since she'd spoken to Castle felt like a year. Knowing that he was in the middle of some probably hare-brained plan made her more nervous than when she had no idea what he was doing. She envied him the chance to be doing something, even if it was almost certainly something stupid. Any action would be better than the torture of waiting. Martha reached a hand out to cover both of hers.

'Drink your tea, my dear. It'll give your hands something to do other than pick at each other.'

'I'm sorry, Martha. I'm not doing a very good job at comforting you, am I?' Kate said.

'About as good a job as I am at comforting you, darling.' Martha gave her hands a little squeeze before releasing them and pushing a cup towards her and Kate obediently took a sip of tea. The ring of the doorbell almost made her drop her cup and tea splashed over the counter. Martha rushed to the door with Kate on her heels and Kate felt her stomach do another of the somersaults it had become adept at in the last couple of days as fear and hope vied with each other at the sight of Captain Gates.

'Captain! What's happened?' Kate asked. Martha said nothing, struck dumb with fear for what she might be about to hear.

'Nothing, I'm afraid. I just came to see how you're doing. You haven't heard anything either?' Kate shook her head.

'Please come in, Captain Gates,' Martha said, finding her voice. 'I'll get you some tea.'

Gates started to decline the offer but stopped herself, glancing at Kate who understood the look. She wanted to talk to her privately and Kate felt light-headed as she led her to Castle's study.

Gates looked around admiringly but didn't comment on the luxurious loft that she was seeing for the first time. Instead, she met Kate's eyes and said, 'Detective, the FBI don't think there's much point in continuing the phone surveillance. They're going to….'

'No! No, Sir. They are not going to stop. Not yet. If Castle's plan doesn't work the kidnappers may still get in touch. We're not giving up.'

'But Beckett…'

'Sir, you can't let them do this. It'll destroy Martha if she thinks there's no hope.' Kate bit her lip, unable to continue as her quavering voice threatened to break altogether. She turned away as she saw the older woman coming with tea and a plate of her cookies, forcing back the tears that were threatening to spill over. She mustn't cry in front of his mother.

'I understand. I'll sort it out,' Gates said, quietly. 'Thank you, Mrs. Rodgers. These look delicious,' she added in a brighter voice.

* * *

2am in Paris and still no news. Lanie had dropped by with hugs and pizza but she hadn't stayed. The women had opened the box but hadn't been able to face eating it and the cheese was now congealing into an unappetising mess. Dammit, why didn't he call? Kate grabbed the pizza box and forced it violently into the bin meeting Martha's eyes and seeing her own despair reflected there.

'Sorry,' she said with a shake of her head.

'Don't be. I understand. I'm swinging between pride that Richard would do anything for Alexis and anger that he's gone off like this. Wine?'

'No, I don't think I can.'

'Me neither.' Martha closed her eyes and sighed.

That Martha understood how she felt was a relief. Anxiety and anger were battling each other for the upper hand and right now anger was winning. It wasn't so much that he had gone to Paris that made her mad; it was that he'd gone without her. She should be with him and then they'd have each other's back like they always did, and she wouldn't be here worried sick that she may never see him or his daughter again.

There was just one FBI man left to monitor the phones now. Pete wasn't very talkative - he was all about the equipment - and now it looked like he was asleep. Kate couldn't blame him; he'd been on duty for over six hours and he'd had nothing to do. Martha picked up a magazine and sat by the window, flicking blindly through the pages and Kate took _Hell Hath No Fury _from the bookcase, the first of his books that she'd ever read, and curled up in an armchair. As she read the first page she smiled as she remembered how she'd had to hide just how overawed she'd been when she'd first met the author. He'd behaved like a complete jackass but a ruggedly handsome and charming jackass. She swung back from anger to anxiety. She'd forgive him anything if he'd just come home.

The silence was broken by the ring of the house phone. Pete was instantly alert, ready to start the trace, holding his hand up to give Martha the signal to pick up the handset with her trembling hand. Kate was across the room to Pete's side in a few quick sides so that she could listen with him. As he nodded to Martha, Kate's phone rang and she was torn between answering it and listening to Martha's caller. She looked at the screen – caller ID withheld – and she felt her mouth go dry.

'Hello?'

'Kate, it's me.'

'Castle! Oh my God, Castle, are you alright?' She looked across to Martha who looked elated.

'Alexis. My darling girl, are you OK?'

'I'm fine, Kate. We're both fine. Alexis is with me. She's talking to Mother right now.'

'I know. I can hear. Oh, thank God you're safe.' Kate took a shaky breath, trying to control the trembling of her lip.

'You're with my mother? I knew you would be. Thank you.'

'Where are you?' she asked unable to hide the break in her voice.

'We're at the American Embassy. Don't worry, Kate, we're absolutely fine. I'm not sure that I'll ever let Alexis out of my sight again, but we're good.' His voice wavered and she just wanted to hug him.

'Come home, Castle,' was all she could say.

'We'll be home for breakfast. I can't wait.'

'Me too. How did you get Alexis out?' Kate heard voices in the background.

'Right,' Castle said to someone. 'Listen Kate, I've got to go. See you in the morning. Thank you.'

'What for?'

'Being there for me.'

'Always,' and then he was gone again. Kate looked across to Martha who was putting down the phone with a tearful smile that she knew matched the one on her own face.

Pete looked on, quietly packing up his equipment, as Kate and Martha met in the centre of the room, clutching each other tightly as they both gave way to tears of relief.

As they released each other Kate said, 'You know, Martha, I think I could manage a glass of wine now.'

'Nonsense, darling, this calls for a celebration. You get the glasses and I'll open the champagne.' And Martha swept towards the fridge leaving Kate to admire the amazing Rodgers/Castle ability to bounce back.

**Slowly, we move towards the reunion which will definitely happen in the next chapter. As always, I'm grateful for your support and reviews. **


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm enjoying writing this; I do hope you're enjoying reading it. More Martha and Kate and a reunion here for you.**

Chapter 5

Martha eased the door open so that she could peek into the bedroom. The poor girl was curled up asleep on top of the quilt, exhausted after the ordeal of the last few days. She crept up to the bed and looked down at the face that looked so much younger and more vulnerable at rest and wondered whether to wake her so that she could get into bed properly but she decided against it. Better she sleep fully clothed than not sleep at all. So, she gently slid off the four-inch heels before covering her son's beautiful girlfriend with a blanket, switching off the light and silently pulling Richard's bedroom door closed on her way out.

The FBI had cleared out all their equipment and the loft looked as if nothing had happened but the appearance of normality was superficial. While the physical world had been righted it would take the people involved a bit longer to regain their equilibrium. She and Kate had busied themselves with cleaning up after the FBI team had gone and they'd strung up a welcome home sign that Martha had stashed away in her props box. A dramatic gesture perhaps but one she believed was appropriate in the circumstances. The impending homecoming felt on a par with conquering heroes returning from war. When they'd completed their work, they'd had another glass of champagne and then Kate had shocked her when she'd picked up her coat and said that she'd better go.

'Go? What on earth do you mean?'

'I'll come by in the morning, after you've had a chance to welcome them home,' she'd said, pulling on her coat and delving into the pockets for her gloves.

'Don't be ridiculous. You'll stay here and we'll welcome them home together. You can't possibly imagine that Richard would want anything else,' Martha had insisted.

Kate had looked uncertain and, not for the first time, Martha had been surprised at how this woman could sometimes doubt her own importance in her son's life. Before they'd finally got together, Richard had often said that his relationship with Kate was complicated and having got to know her better over the past few months, Martha understood more why he should feel like that. Even now, she sometimes felt like hitting their heads together. They still tiptoed around each other at times, as if they were dealing with something fragile and delicate instead of the robust and powerful love they shared that had already proven itself so often. They'd weathered many storms together but they spent too much time worrying about the next one rather than enjoying the moment and trusting in their future together.

'It should just be family, Martha. Castle can call me when he's ready…'

'Kate Beckett, what is wrong with you? I'll tell you exactly when he'll be ready and that's as soon as he walks through that door and he'll be mad as hell with me if I let you go.' She'd stood between Kate and her exit, hands on hips, signalling her intention not to let her pass.

'I don't know. I'm…I'm not sure…' Kate had let her sentence taper out, chewing her bottom lip and twisting her gloves in her hands.

Martha had grasped her shoulders and looked up into her eyes. 'Well I do and I am! You take off that coat now and go and hang it up. I mean it.'

Kate had given her a watery-eyed grin and after a moments hesitation had slipped off her coat, taking it through to Richard's bedroom and that had been the last that Martha had seen of her until she'd checked on her an hour later. Martha sighed and with a last glance around the room she started to climb the stairs. She felt wearier than she'd care to admit and she needed some sleep herself before the emotional reunion that awaited them all in the morning.

* * *

Kate woke to the sun on her face and she was instantly bathed in the warm knowledge that Castle was coming back. She stretched out her hand to where he'd soon be lying next to her but she felt the edge of the bed and realised she'd fallen asleep on his side. She had only come to the bedroom to hang up her coat but she'd been drawn to the bed and the need to feel closer to him. The last thing she remembered was resting her head on his pillow and breathing in his scent. She'd been filled with a mixture of longing and relief alongside an irresistible urge to give in to sleep. The room was suffused with the golden glow of dawn and she stretched, feeling restricted by the clothes she was still wearing. It was just after 7am - she'd slept for 9 hours straight. 'That's because you needed it, Katie,' she could hear her mom say. Soon Castle and Alexis would be back home and she'd be here to greet them. Despite Martha's reassurance, her anticipation was mixed with trepidation that maybe she was overstepping some invisible line. After all, he'd chosen to leave her behind when he'd gone on his rescue mission to Paris so perhaps there were parts of his life that he wasn't ready to share with her. Lying there in yesterday's clothes wouldn't resolve that worry, but sprucing herself up might help so she got up and peeled off her wrinkled jacket and pants, dropping them on the floor on her way to the shower.

Martha, resplendent in a bright green and royal blue outfit that matched her buoyant mood, was fully occupied preparing a lavish spread for breakfast when Kate emerged refreshed from her shower. By contrast, Kate was soberly dressed in a work trouser suit. She had a growing but haphazard selection of clothing at the loft. Castle seemed to get a ridiculous amount of pleasure from taking care of her dry-cleaning and doing her laundry before stowing away her clothes in his closet, and she found it not only convenient but also strangely comforting to know that some of her possessions were finding a more permanent home here. Her choices for this morning were safe work clothes or a sassy little midnight blue dress. It was easy to decide which would be most suitable for breakfast with his mother and daughter.

'Wow, Martha. Just wow! Have you been up all night?' The table was laden with pastries and fruit and the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread drifted from the kitchen.

'Good morning, Kate darling. You do look lovely. No, I slept wonderfully. I phoned Alberto before I went to bed last night. He owns that lovely deli on the corner and he delivered this morning. He'd do anything for me. Such a sweet man. I think I'll have to let him take me to dinner now but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. He's real eye candy and so young! Richard called about twenty minutes ago – don't look so disappointed, my dear. I did come to get you but you were in the shower. Their plane was early and you'll see him soon enough.'

Kate felt the warmth of a blush steal into her cheeks, embarrassed that her disappointment at missing his call was so obvious. 'Did you mention I was here?' she asked, pushing back her hair with nervous fingers.

'I didn't have a chance as after thirty seconds of talking to me, he asked to speak to you.' She stopped slicing strawberries and gave Kate a look that so clearly said 'I told you so', she had to smile.

'What can I do?' she asked feeling suddenly more relaxed.

'You're in charge of pancakes. Richard was really rather rude about my last efforts and of course he was right.'

* * *

'Kate darling. Rug? Hole?'

'Sorry, Martha.' Kate stopped prowling and took the coffee she was offered. Martha dropped on to the couch nearest the entrance and Kate perched on the table beside her, eyes on the door and poised for action like an anxious cat.

'Not long now, my dear,' Martha said and Kate wondered when they'd switched positions and the older woman had become the comfort provider. She felt a wave of affection for her lover's mother. She could hardly be more different from her own mother, but she was beginning to fill bits of that role that had been vacant for so long.

Just when Kate began to feel that she couldn't stand the anticipation any longer, the door swung open and there they were. Alexis rushed to her grandmother's waiting arms and seconds later she was holding Castle tight, all her worries about whether she should be there banished by the feel of his strong arms enfolding her in his warm embrace.

'I'm so glad you're OK. Please don't you ever do anything like that again without me,' she whispered, pulling back to look up at him.

'I won't.' He looked tired and weighed down by his experience. She knew how important it was to be able to unburden yourself and she'd be there for him when he needed to do that but for now she cradled the face she'd missed so much in her hands and kissed him.

She released him to his mother's arms and hugged Alexis tightly, all doubts about her place in this family already a distant memory.

**So, I finally reached the moment of reunion but more of that to come. Mostly Rick and Kate in the next chapter, with perhaps a little Gates thrown into the mix. Let me know if that's what you want or if there's anything you'd like to see and I'll try to oblige. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you again for the wonderful feedback and for letting me know what you'd like to see happen. I've tried to include some of your wishes in this chapter. Hope you enjoy it. **

Chapter 6

The mantle of dread that had descended on Castle when Alexis was kidnapped had lifted only to be replaced by a new sadness. To discover his father only to have him snatched away again was a new form of cruelty and, after the initial euphoria of having Alexis safely back in his arms had worn off, he was plagued by fear that his father was dead. But then he saw that copy of _Casino Royale_ and he knew that somewhere Jackson Hunt - or whatever his name really was – was alive and someday he might see him again.

'Mom, there's something I want to tell you. You too, Kate,' he said turning to the heart-warming sight of his beautiful girlfriend linking arms with his gorgeous daughter. 'Let's talk while we eat. I'm suddenly starving.'

'What is it, Richard?'

'I think we should start at the beginning. Alexis?'

She nodded as she took her seat at the table between Kate and her grandmother and between mouthfuls of fruit and pancakes she told her part of the story. Castle knew every detail already but he listened in awe as she recounted her terrible ordeal without even a tremor in her voice. What an amazing, resourceful young woman she'd grown into.

'You picked the lock? Wow!' Kate's eyes were wide in admiration.

'I taught her how to do that,' Castle said.

'Yeah, but she probably took what you taught her and perfected it, Castle,' Kate said to a chorus of laughter from the women.

'Hey, ganging up on me already? No fair and thank you.'

He took up the narrative after Alexis reached the point of her recapture on that Paris rooftop. There were a number of different versions of the tale; the one that credited the French police and Interpol with rescuing Alexis; the one that included grim details of how his father had, among other things, tortured one of kidnappers and then shot him in the head; and the sanitised version that he shared with them now. He'd told his dad that he would have to tell Kate and Martha about him because, although he could fool the rest of the world, they'd know that he was hiding something big.

'Mom, the man who saved me in the woods…' He paused to take her hand and to meet her questioning eyes, '…he was my father.'

'Your father? But… I don't understand.'

'The man that you fell in love with all those years ago worked for the CIA. That's why he disappeared but he's been keeping an eye on all of us ever since. Alexis was kidnapped because she's his granddaughter.'

'What are you talking about?'

He kept his eyes on his mother's face as he told her the story of his father's involvement in Alexis' kidnap and rescue, willing her to believe him and judging her reaction. He broke eye contact just once when he felt Kate take his free hand in hers. Her eyes were misted with compassion and love and he smiled as he tightly grasped the hand in his before returning his attention to Martha. As he finished his story, she remained silent.

'Mom?' he asked, quietly.

She nodded at him. 'It's a lot to take in. To know he cared enough to come back and keep an eye on us but then he was responsible for all this…'

'And he sorted it out'

'Like a knight in shining armour? I need to process this, darling. But tell me, how are you doing, Kiddo?'

'I'm still processing too but mostly I think I'm doing OK.' He included them all in his answering smile and only then did he notice that Kate's free hand was clasping his daughter's. He felt his throat tighten at the sight. 'One thing I do know for sure and that's I'm a very lucky man.'

'And you must be an exhausted man as well. You should get some rest. You too, Alexis. My poor darling, you've had the most dreadful time.'

'And I've got to go to work,' Kate said, gathering together plates and taking them to the kitchen.

'You do? Can't you stay?' Castle knew that he sounded needy but he didn't care; he felt needy and he wanted to keep all his women with him for a while.

'I do. Someone has to sort out all the paperwork you created, you know.' She hugged Alexis and Martha and picked up her coat.

'Promise you'll come back soon?' he said, wrapping his arms around Kate's waist at the door.

'I promise.' She linked her fingers together behind his neck and pulled his lips down to meet hers for a long kiss before resting her head on his shoulder as he hugged her close. 'I'm so glad you're home,' she whispered into his neck.

'Me too.' He kissed he forehead before reluctantly releasing her and stood at the open door to watch her until she turned the corner, not leaving his post until he heard the lift doors close.

* * *

'How are they doing?' Esposito asked, coming to meet her at her desk as soon as she arrived in the bullpen.

'Tired and shaken but OK, I think. Thank you guys, for everything you did.'

'We're just happy that they're home safe and, of course, we're looking forward to having the Ferrari for a few weeks – just kidding,' said Ryan, twisting a pen in his fingers.

'You might be kidding, bro, but I want that Ferrari. What are you doing here, Kate? You should be with him,' Esposito asked, perching on the edge of her desk.

'I want to get this paperwork cleared up and then I've got the weekend off. Besides, what would Gates think if I didn't show? Where is she?' The Captain's office was empty but Kate could see her coat hanging on the hat stand.

'Some budget meeting. Said she'd be a couple of hours. We'll leave you to it so you can get out quickly,' Ryan said, nodding to Javi as Kate started sorting through the files piled up in front of her. They returned to their own desks and the prospect of a quiet day. Gates had ensured that the team wouldn't pick up any homicides today so admin interspersed gossiping awaited them.

'She can't seriously think that Gates doesn't know, can she? If she hadn't already guessed, she has to realise now.' Ryan clicked his pen top up and down while he looked towards Beckett.

'I know. You'd have to have been blind and deaf not to notice that that they're together. The whole precinct knows now though I think most of them did anyway.'

'What do you think Gates will do, Javi?'

'I don't know but if you keep fiddling with that pen, she'll probably shoot you,' Esposito said, snatching the offending object out of his hand.

* * *

Kate was putting the last few papers into a filing box when a ripple of applause spread across the bullpen. She looked up to see Castle arriving with a basket in each hand, one piled high with muffins and the other a rainbow of cup cakes.

He paused for moment, overcome by their reaction, but recovered quickly to say, 'Guys, I know you like muffins but a round of applause? Seriously?'

The police officers gathered around him, shaking his hand and clapping him on the back and he met Kate's smiling eyes through the crowd with his own misty ones.

'Nothing says thank you like a tray of muffins but I'll try. Thank you all so much for everything. You're the best.'

The officers gradually drifted back to their desks leaving behind a greatly diminished assortment of cakes and a brown paper bag that had been nestled among the muffins that Castle now opened to draw out two coffees.

'What, no coffee for us?' Esposito said.

'I… I'll make you one…'

'Anyone would think that you don't love us as much as Beckett,' said Ryan, joining them. Castle opened and closed his mouth before shrugging his shoulders.

'Good to see you, bro.' Espo gave him a man hug.

'My turn. Don't go all Liam Neeson on us again. Beckett was a mess,' Ryan said, gripping his hand and wrapping his other arm round him.

'Yeah. She tried to remodel the interrogation suite using a witness as a battering ram. Scary. I wouldn't upset her if I were you.' Esposito put a whole cup cake into his mouth and munched.

'Hey, right here guys,' Kate said, coming over to take the coffee Castle was offering her. She smiled up at him, her fingers lingering on his. 'What are you doing here? I thought you were going to sleep.'

'Couldn't. Too much stuff going on in here.' He tapped his head with his finger.

'How's Alexis doing?' Kevin asked, delicately selecting a cup cake with pink icing and a rose decoration. Javi shook his head at him, using his finger to keep his own cake in his mouth.

'Amazingly well actually. She's never going out without me again but I haven't told her that yet. She's going to stay home for a couple of weeks and then I'm going to move into her dorm room at Columbia with her.'

'Oh, she'll be fine with that. How'd you rescue her?' Javi asked, wiping crumbs from his chin.

'I can't take all the credit. The French police and interpol did their bit too. You guys need to come over soon and we'll tell you all about it. Alexis would love to see you – and Jenny and Lanie too, of course. You nearly ready to leave?' he added, turning his attention to Kate. Kevin and Ryan shared an eye-roll. She hadn't taken her eyes off him since he'd arrived. Mom and Dad were getting all soppy. Lucky Gates was out.

'Mr Castle, it's really good to see you back.'

They all turned at once to see Gates leaning on the frame of her door with her arms crossed. She looked like she might have been watching them for a while.

'Thank you, Captain, it's great to be back. I just called in with some thank you cakes.' He held out the baskets to her and she took a chocolate muffin. 'I'm so grateful for everything you did to help me get Alexis back.'

'We're just happy that you're both safe and well. How is Alexis?'

'Much better than you would think possible. She's remarkably resilient.'

'I'm sure you're very proud of her.'

'I am. We're going to have a little glad to be back party in a few days. I hope you'll come.'

'Thank you, Mr Castle. I'd love to.'

'Good. Now I'm going to go home to see how my girl's doing. Kate, are you ready?'

Kate, who had been watching the exchange without even considering whether Gates might know about them, was rudely awakened to the possibility by Castle's slip. She couldn't blame him. They were far from an even keel yet and, anyway, she'd given up all pretence in front of everyone before he's set off on his solo mission.

'You mean so she can debrief you? For the case file.' She nodded at them both.

'Er, absolutely, Sir. Debriefing. We'll do that at Castle's loft so…' Kate floundered.

'So that he doesn't have to leave Alexis. Good idea, Detective. Enjoy your weekend. It's been a tough week. You'll need to unwind.' She turned into her office, leaving the four of them to stare after her.

**Please keep reviewing. I admit that reviews are like opium - the more you get the more you want. And tell me if you want to see anything in particular in the next chapter and I'll see what I can do. They'll be a lot more R&K next, I think. though I never quite know exactly where Mr Marlowe's characters are going to lead me. I don't, of course, own them but i wish I did.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

'Castle, time to wake up,' Kate said, kissing him on the cheek.

'Hmm, Kate. Too soon, let's sleep.' He didn't open his eyes but the corners of his mouth turned up contentedly and he pulled her closer with the arm that was wrapped possessively around her shoulders.

When he didn't stir, she nuzzled him with her nose and blew on his neck, enjoying the scent of him. 'Hey, sleepy head, wakey, wakey.'

'This is real cute and if you did that to me, there's no way I'd be sleeping but lady, are you and Sleeping Beauty gonna get out of my cab or shall I turn on the meter again?'

'We're going. Come on, Castle. We're home.' She shook his leg from side to side with the hand that had been resting on his thigh for the whole journey. He'd fallen asleep as soon as they'd settled in the back of the cab and had stayed that way despite the stop start traffic of Friday afternoon Manhattan. Kate had used the time to closely study his face, her stomach pitching as she thought about how close she'd been to never seeing it again. Even in sleep there was a tension around his mouth and between his eyes that hadn't been there before and she knew that it would take time for that to go.

'Castle, wake up. Let's get you inside and into your own bed.'

'Hmm, you want to take me to bed, Kate. Sounds good. That's the way I like you to wake me up. No, wait…' He opened his eyes, confused, and Kate took his hand and pulled him along behind her, out of the cab and into his building. In her other hand she carried the bag that she'd had the forethought to pack when she'd stopped at her apartment on the way to the precinct that morning. She needed a few more options than sassy little dresses or work clothes for the weekend.

'Good evening, Miss Beckett, do you need help with either of those loads you're carrying?' the doorman asked.

'No thanks, John, I can manage.' She dazzled him with her smile and he stood watching them make their way across the lobby to the lift with a grin on his face. They really were such a cute couple and if he knew anything about it this one was around for the duration, unlike the other women that Mr Castle used to bring home.

Castle draped his arms round her in the elevator, resting his chin on her head and Kate, holding tight around his waist, wondered if he'd fallen asleep again. The lift door opened on their floor to reveal a deeply tanned man with startling blue eyes and dark hair tinged with silver.

'Scusi,' he said, standing to one side to let them pass, flashing stunning white teeth at Kate and giving Castle a nod.

Kate wondered momentarily who he might be before she propped Castle against the doorframe as if he were drunk. He complied, now much more awake but clearly enjoying having Kate look after him, particularly when she delved into his pockets to find his key. She ducked the kiss he aimed at her with a cheeky lift of an eyebrow and unlocked his front door. They were greeted by a wonderful aroma of cooking and the sight of Martha wearing an apron.

'Ah, Kate darling, he found you. Perfect timing. I've made Chicken a la Martha. You'll love it. And don't look at me like that, Richard, I guarantee that it'll be delightful,' Martha said, sweeping them into the loft.

Her son, who had paused in the act of rubbing his eyes to raise his brows at her as she was speaking, now somehow managed to raise them even more.

'Mother, I have no doubt that it'll be delicious.'

'Thank you for having some faith in me,' she said, lifting a bottle of white wine in Kate's direction and receiving a nod in reply.

'I do have faith – in your skill at ordering in. I might not have been completely awake but I'm sure that was the guy from the deli we just saw getting into the elevator.'

'Alberto. That's right. He just delivered - personally.'

'And that makes this Chicken a la Martha how?' He had somehow managed to get his arm caught as he tried to remove his coat and Kate came to his rescue.

'Because I was his inspiration.' She filled two fresh glasses and topped up her own, handing one to Kate who had now divested Castle of the coat that had caused him so much trouble.

'But I thought you said that you'd made it.'

'But I did, darling. I made it into a perfect meal by adding a green salad and warming the ciabatta.' She handed him his wine and the three of them clinked glasses.

'Where's Alexis?' Castle asked, looking around as if he might spot her hiding behind the couch.

'She's on her way down. Being far more sensible than her father, she had a good sleep and now she's wide awake.'

'I'm just going to slunge,' he said, putting down his glass and pointing at his face, 'and then I'll be wide awake too.'

'You're going to what?' Kate asked, wrinkling her nose.

'Slunge. It's Glaswegian slang for washing but it's so much more evocative than the alternatives, don't you think? "I'm just going to submerge my face in water" just doesn't have the same ring to it. Research for a new Nikki Heat character. A small time mobster from Glasgow crosses swords with Detective Heat and regrets it. Anyway, it's slunge time. Does that sound dirty?' He disappeared into the bedroom and Kate, grinning and shaking her head slowly from side to side, kept her eyes on the closed door until Martha brought her back to the present.

'I hope you realise now how right I was about Richard wanting you here as soon as he came back. He's been fidgety all day, ever since you left. It was all I could do to stop him following you as soon as Alexis fell asleep.'

'Really?' Kate dropped her head and peeked out at Martha from under her hair.

'Of course really! I don't know what you're afraid of, Kate, but I've known Richard all his life – obviously – and he's never loved another woman the way he loves you. I know I'm embarrassing you, dear, but saying what you know to be true is one of the few advantages of getting older.

Kate flushed but although Martha's words made her self-conscious she also had to admit that they filled her with something more than simple pleasure. She still sometimes found herself worrying about Castle's past and whether he might tire of her now that the chase was over. When she was with him she rarely thought about it, but when they were apart her imagination sometimes ran away with her. Knowing that his mother believed in them her gave her a new confidence.

Martha's hand reached out to cover hers. 'Relax and enjoy yourselves, Kate. If there's one thing that the last few days have shown us, it's that we don't know what might be waiting round the corner.' Kate lifted her head from the veil of chestnut waves and smiled, nodding her thanks before turning to greet Alexis who she heard coming down the stairs

* * *

Chicken a la Martha was indeed delicious and they enjoyed a relaxing meal, staying around the table chatting until Alexis' phone rang and she disappeared to her room to talk to Max in private. Castle, who had enjoyed a brief period of wakefulness after his slunge, was flagging again and his yawns became so frequent that they began to run into one another.

'You kids go to bed and I'll clear up here,' Martha said.

'I'll help you, Martha…'

'Kate, it'll take me two minutes to load the dishwasher, and if you stay here any longer we're going to have to carry Richard to bed and I don't relish that prospect.'

'I'm not that heavy. OK, maybe I am. Take me to bed, Kate. Mother! Stop looking at us like that.' Kate laughed and took his hand to lead him away, calling out goodnight to his mother on the way.

They brushed their teeth side by side, arms touching, enjoying the intimate domesticity.

'I need to slunge now. Go get undressed,' Kate said, turning him towards the door and pushing him in the direction of the bedroom. When she emerged a few minutes later he was sitting on the edge of the bed, fully clothed except for his shoes and socks.

'Oh, thank God to be back in our bed.' Castle sighed deeply, and closed his eyes.

Kate knelt behind him and started to massage his shoulders. She'd noticed he'd said our and she liked it.

'Hmmm. That feels so good.' He dropped his head forwards and she burrowed her nimble fingers into the tight knots in his neck and then back along his shoulders to his muscular upper arms. He sat there, silent except for the odd moan of pleasure or perhaps pleasurable pain, letting her work her magic on him until she finished by rubbing her hands up and down his arms and kissing the back of his neck.

'Time for bed now, Castle,' she whispered into his ear and he leaned his head back towards her to find her lips. They kissed lightly before she moved away and he dropped back onto the bed, his eyes closed. He stayed there while Kate got undressed, finally pulling on one of his t-shirts that draped over her and slid off one shoulder to reveal her golden skin.

'Hey, you can't sleep like that,' she said, grabbing his hand and trying to pull him up.

'Hmm, why not? You did,' he replied sleepily, tugging at her hand to pull her down beside him. She fell half on the bed and half on his chest, kissing his warm lips. He responded lazily, kneading her bottom lip between his.

'Your mother told you that?' she asked, lifting herself on to an elbow.

'She did. She said you weren't sure whether you should stay. That was stoopid,' he mumbled, squeezing her tightly.

'Yeah, I know.' She gave him another peck on the lips and pulled away. 'Well, you can't sleep there because you're taking up the whole of the bottom of the bed and there's no room for me.'

'There's always room for you, Kate,' he said trying to pull her back but she was too quick for him, pushing on his chest to lever herself back to her feet.

'You need to get undressed and into bed.' She said, taking his hand again but this time resisting his effort to pull her back onto the bed.

'Too tired,' he moaned.

Kate sighed and bent down to start undoing his shirt buttons. He let her do it, and Kate wondered just how tired he really was. When she started to unbuckle his belt he hummed slightly.

'Lift,' she said, and he obediently raised his butt so that she could remove his pants and underwear.

His body was making a half-hearted attempt to respond to her touch but exhaustion was winning the battle. He lifted his body so she could remove his shirt and summoned enough energy to help her, shuffling up and down as she lifted his legs and twisted him into bed and under the covers. She slid in beside him, settling in her usual spot with her head on his chest and one arm and leg resting over him and he closed his arm around her automatically.

'Thank you,' he murmured.

'My pleasure.'

She thought he'd drifted off but then he mumbled, 'My pillow smells like you. Lovely.' She could her the smile in his voice and she snuggled even closer to him.

'So, you met your dad,' she whispered.

'Yeah.'

'What was he like?'

'Resourceful, intelligent, funny, ruggedly handsome…'

'Ah, nothing like you then.'

He pinched her waist, making her yelp.

'Must have been strange,' she added.

'Hmm, tell you tomorrow,' and then she felt his breathing become deeper, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest soothing her and she draped her arm right over his broad chest, never wanting to let him go again.

**So, mostly Rick and Kate. More Gates coming up.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Kate, croissant in one hand and coffee in the other, had her feet on her chair and an open book resting on her knees. Castle's office was her favourite place in the loft because it was just so him. You could see evidence of Martha and Alexis everywhere except his bedroom, and increasingly she was leaving her own mark there, but the office remained very much his territory and every time she was in there, particularly when she was alone, she got a fuzzy feeling that she would have struggled to verbalise. This morning she loved it even more because she'd found an advance copy of _Storm Front _on his desk. In the hour since Martha had set off to do some errands - that Kate suspected might include a visit to the deli – she'd made rapid progress and she had almost finished chapter three. Every time she came across a plot development that she recognised or a character he'd mentioned she got a thrill; he knew how much she treasured his books and he shared little snippets as he wrote; just enough to intrigue her but never too much to risk spoiling her enjoyment of the finished novel.

When she'd woken refreshed more than two hours earlier, Castle was in exactly the same position he had been when he'd fallen asleep. As she lay beside him, feeling the rise and fall of his every breath through the protective hand that rested on his chest, she felt a flutter of desire knowing how easy it would be to waken him with sweet caresses and teasing kisses. But he needed to sleep and she'd reluctantly slid away from his warm, enticing body, only staying in the bedroom long enough to pull on some sweat pants.

She put down her coffee to turn the page, so enthralled that she didn't hear him arrive.

'Hey.' She looked up, swallowing the piece of croissant in her mouth and licking crumbs off her lips. She took her time to admire him standing in the doorway looking delectably sleep tousled, dressing gown open to reveal his bare chest and boxers.

'Hey, yourself.'

'You found _Storm Front_, I see.'

'Yeah, it's not so bad,' She grinned as his face fell. He was so easy but she didn't have the heart to let him suffer for long today. 'I'm loving it.'

His eyes crinkled up and he gave a self-satisfied nod. 'I knew you would. I got my publishers to send it over yesterday so you could read it.'

She beamed at him, touched that with everything he'd been through, he'd thought of her.

'You've got a…' He waved a hand at his chin and she mimicked him, swiping her fingers below her mouth.

'Still there. I'd better just…' He came round behind her chair and bent down to kiss her, his lips travelling down to her chin to hoover up the crumbs before she captured them again with her own open mouth, enjoying the relative novelty of kissing him upside down. His hands drifted down her shoulders, passing lightly over her breasts before coming to rest on her abdomen and their kiss deepened, tongues entwining, as Kate stroked his cheek with her free hand.

'Hmm, prickly,' she said as he pulled away and spun the chair around so that she was facing him. He perched on the edge of his desk and pinched his chin between thumb and forefinger.

'I guess I'd better shave. Is that a croissant?'

'Umm, want some?' She held it up for him but instead of taking a bite he jerked his upper body away, wrinkling his nose.

'French food. Too soon. I'm going to wash.' Kate shook her head and smiled at his retreating form and settled back to finish the chapter.

She was a few pages into chapter four when she heard Alexis call 'Anyone home?'

She sounded shaky and Kate immediately replied, unwinding herself from the chair to join her in the kitchen.

'Oh, Kate, good, I thought I was alone.' Relief was plain on Alexis' face and Kate gave her a quick shoulder hug.

'I'm here and your dad's in the shower. Martha's gone shopping or to see Alberto or perhaps a bit of both.' Alexis' smile didn't reach her eyes and she sat on a stool at the counter looking unusually serious.

'Juice?' Kate asked, taking a carton out of the fridge.

'Please.'

'You OK?' Kate asked casually, passing her a glass of orange juice.

'Yeah, I just… I don't really know why but I was really worried when I thought I was on my own.'

'It's not surprising. You've had a terrifying experience.'

'But I know that I'm safe now so why do I feel like this?'

'Sucks, doesn't it? You know, after a traumatic event our brains can do funny things to us. It's like they take time to catch up with reality. Sometimes it just takes a little while and then we're fine again but the most important thing that I've learnt is that it's really helps to talk about how you're feeling. Don't bottle it up inside because it can eat away at you. The people you love can help you but you might find it's better to talk to someone you don't know.'

'You mean like a therapist? I don't need that.' She shook her red head emphatically and looked down at the glass that she was twisting in front of her.

'Maybe you don't but I know that it really helped me. That and knowing that there were people who cared about me.'

'You saw a therapist?' Alexis looked up sharply, meeting Kate's eyes.

'I still do sometimes. You look shocked.' Kate said, her head to one side, assessing the young girl's reaction.

'But you're so strong. So in control.'

'I might look that way but for a long time I felt like I was heading off in random directions without any real thought. I wanted everyone to think I was fine but I was disappearing down a rabbit hole. Eventually I reached the point when I knew I needed help. Sometimes the brave thing to do is to admit that you can't do it all on your own.'

Alexis nodded her head, obviously carefully considering what she'd said. Every now and again the girl really reminded her of Castle. Kate didn't say anything, waiting for her to process what she'd heard.

'Do you think I should see a therapist?'

Kate took Alexis' hand in hers. 'Sweetie, you've just got home and it's really early days. Give yourself a bit of time and see how you feel. Talk to your dad and your grandma and that may be all you need but if not there are great people who can help you.'

'Maybe I could talk to you too, Kate,' Alexis said, holding tight to her hand.

'Of course you can, Alexis. Anytime.'

'Thank you.'

'Hungry? I make great eggs and bacon or do you want to wait for your dad's famous pancakes?'

'Bacon and eggs sound great,' she replied, releasing Kate's hand.

'Good morning. Did I hear someone say bacon and eggs? That sounds perfect.' Castle emerged from the bedroom to join them, hugging Alexis and giving Kate a watery-eyed grin over her shoulder.

'What plots have you two been hatching?' He asked, sitting down beside his daughter to watch his girlfriend at work in the kitchen.

'Nothing, except world domination and beating you at laser tag?' Alexis replied, with a conspiratorial smile at Kate that lit up her blue eyes.

* * *

'Alexis darling, will you come and help me decide what to wear tomorrow night? Alberto is taking me to his favourite restaurant in Little Italy and, if I haven't got anything suitable, I'll need to go shopping,' Martha said as she scooped up the remainder of her winnings from their final hand of poker.

'Well, as you've just cleaned all of us out with your royal flush, you should be able to buy whatever you need without using my credit card.' Castle straightened the deck of cards and slid them into their box.

'Unfortunately, Gummy Bears are not legal currency on Fifth Avenue, Richard.'

'Alexis, I'm relying on you to save me from your grandmother's spend thrift ways by finding the perfect dress in her already over-crowded closet. Mother, perhaps I should have a word with deli man. You know, check whether his intentions are honourable.'

'I certainly hope they're not honourable. Come on Alexis.' Martha said and Kate gave a shout of laughter as Castle put his fingers in his ears and screwed up his eyes as his mother and daughter went upstairs leaving them alone for the first time since morning.

'Come and sit with me, Kate.' Castle took her hand and led her to the couch. They sat side by side, not quite touching and he twisted so his back was resting on the arm, giving him a good view of her face.

'I heard you talking to Alexis this morning.'

'Right. I thought you might have. Do you mind?' She dipped her head slightly and looked at him through her long lashes, nervously playing with a cushion tassel.

'Mind? Why would I mind?'

'I thought perhaps… I wasn't sure…' She hesitated. 'I don't want to intrude…'

'Kate, what are you talking about?'

She took a steadying breath and the answered him with a question. 'Castle, why did you go to Paris without me?'

He studied her face for a few seconds. 'You know that I would have done anything – anything at all – to get Alexis back, including breaking any laws I needed to. You're a cop. You couldn't have done some of the things I was prepared to do and, besides, I wasn't going to put your life at risk too.' His eyes held hers and she knew he was looking for her understanding.

'But I could have helped you. I wanted to help you.'

"I know but I couldn't have put you in that position, Kate.'

Kate looked down, wondering whether she should continue. He'd had a dreadful experience and she did understand what he was saying but he needed to know what it had been like for her so that he'd never go off without her again.

'Castle, you once asked me if I knew what it was like to watch the life drain out of someone you… cared for. When we were talking on the phone and then there was that shot, I thought I'd heard you die. It was… I…' Her voice broke and she closed her eyes but couldn't prevent tears escaping through her lashes.

'Kate, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you.' He took her hands in his and she blinked away the tears.

'I know that but please never do anything like that again. I'm your partner. We're a team.' She sniffed.

'I know we are. The best team and luckily this partner has a handkerchief.' He dropped her hands and gave her his hankie and smiled as she wiped her eyes and blew her nose loudly. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly and she wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.

'I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking about anything except getting Alexis back. I was so scared. I thought I may never see her again. Now I'm not sure how to help her cope with the aftermath. Thank you so much for talking to her.'

'Promise me…' She said and Castle took her shoulders and held her away from him so he could look into her eyes.

'Kate Beckett, I promise you that I will never do anything like that again without my partner. And if I do, you have my permission to shoot me.'

'OK, and I will shoot you, you know.'

'I know. I'm so lucky.' Castle smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips.

Kate scooted away from him and he looked her questioningly.

'So your dad.'

'Yeah my dad.' Castle sighed and sat back and Kate waited for him to continue. 'It was surreal. My father really is a spy. It was incredible to meet him and to find out that he's been watching out for us all this time, but I felt so cheated when I realised that he can never be part of our lives. He said he'd always been proud of me Kate.' His eyes filled with tears and she took his hand in both of hers massaging it with her thumbs as he continued.

'He really is ruggedly handsome you know, but he's also a trained killer. That was a little… it made me wonder what I might have inherited from him.'

Kate let go of his hand and took his face in her hands, looking straight into his gentle blue eyes.

'Obviously, you inherited the rugged handsomeness and love for your family but Castle, I hate to tell you this but I'm a bit of an expert when it comes to killers and you missed that gene.'

'But Kate, if I had to kill someone protect Alexis or you or Mother, I'm sure I would do that.'

'And I would do the same, Rick, but doing what you have to when the people you love are threatened is very different to being a trained killer. I hate to break this to you big man, but you're a teddy bear not a grizzly bear. That doesn't mix so well with ninja assassin.'

'So, you're saying I'm soft.'

'As a pillow.'

'Thank you.' He covered her hands with his, and turned his face to kiss her palm.

'Are you expensive?'

'Careful, Castle. Are you calling me a hooker?' she said, squinting at him.

'Kate Beckett! I was talking about your fees as personal therapist to the Castles.'

She smiled and slid her hands out from under his to rest on his chest. 'I might be willing to accept other types of payment,' she said, looking up at him with parted lips so he could see the pink tip of her tongue between her teeth.

**Thanks for the continuing reviews. Next up party with the team - including Gates...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Many thanks for your continued support and kind reviews. I think I've filled in the missing pieces that were nagging me from Target and Hunt so now I can have a bit more fun with AM's wonderful characters. Some more Gates for you here because you do seem to like her. Please tell me what you think.**

Chapter 9

'Mother, there's enough food here for the whole precinct. There's just five plus us which adds up to nine, in case you've sampled too much of the Moet to count.'

Castle walked around the dining table to see exactly what his mother had decided to feed their friends. He had to admit that she'd done a fantastic job - a fantastic job of getting Alberto to do what she wanted again – and the chocolate cake looked particularly appealing.

Martha rapped his knuckles with the chopsticks she was holding.

'Ouch! What was that for?' He clutched his hand to his chest, looking at her as if she'd lost her mind.

'I do not want your finger trail across that frosting, Richard Castle.' Martha wagged the chopsticks in his face before resting them beside the plate of sushi.

'But I wasn't…'

'I could see you thinking.'

'I hate that you and Kate can both do that. It's so unfair.'

The doorbell signalled an arrival and Alexis, who had appointed herself door monitor, hurtled down the stairs to let in the guests. Castle removed the foil from a bottle of champagne, his eyes following his daughter with affection and pride. They'd been home for a week now and Alexis had got over the jumpiness that had afflicted their first few days back. She would return to Columbia within a week and he'd rejoin Kate at the precinct and their lives which be pretty much back to normal. He'd keep a close eye on Alexis though, not because he thought she'd be kidnapped again, but because even someone as grounded as her had to be shaken by what had happened.

'Alexis! We're so glad that you're all right. Don't get kidnapped again. You really worried us.' Ryan hugged the girl tightly and Castle thought how lucky she was to have such great guys looking out for her.

'What he said. Yo, girl, you OK? Is that old man of yours treating you right? You know, you only have to tell us and we'll sort him out.' Esposito kissed her on both cheeks and followed his partner across the room to the champagne that Castle was pouring. He looked over the heads of the two detectives to watch Jenny hug Alexis and then it was Lanie's turn. Even from across the room he could see their tears glistening and he sniffed as he watched the reunion.

'Sweetie, we were so worried,' Lanie squeezed the girl hard and they held each other close before Lanie released her and looked her up and down. 'I hope you're doing as good as you look girl, because you sure do look good tonight.'

The sky blue dress, that complemented her eyes perfectly, was a new purchase, part of what Martha described as her own special plan of recuperation for Alexis that involved taking her shopping and buying new outfits for both of them.

Castle leant to one side, looking expectantly into the corridor, but Alexis pushed the door closed, and the two women came to join them, heads together and arms wrapped around each other's waist.

'Beckett will be here soon. She was clearing up a few things on the case. She wanted to phone the victim's parents to tell them we'd got the lowlife who killed her,' Esposito said.

'Right.' Castle poured himself a glass of champagne and sipped. He hadn't seen Kate for two whole days because of the murder the team had caught this week. It was a tough case; small town girl, new to the city, got mixed up with the wrong guy and ended up floating in the river. She'd told him all about it but she'd spent most of the last two days in the precinct, insisting that she sleep at her own place so that she wouldn't disturb him with late nights and early mornings.

He looked on with warmth as his mother and daughter chatted comfortably with the people who'd become his wider family but he couldn't relax yet and when the bell rang again, he got there before Alexis, throwing the door wide in an expansive gesture that mirrored his smile.

Captain Gates looked up at that hopeful smile and watched as it morphed into a fixed grin.

'Ah. Captain Gates, welcome,' he said. She guessed that he thought he was being discreet as he peered hopefully over her head into the empty hallway, completely missing the eye-roll that she couldn't hold back. He wasn't going to make the evening easy for her; she trusted that Beckett would have better self-control.

'Good evening, Mr Castle. May I come in? Detective Beckett shouldn't be far behind me. She was just beginning to pack up when I left.' His attention snapped back to her and he stepped away, apparently realising he was blocking the entrance. He took her coat and started babbling, as was his wont whenever she caught him doing something he shouldn't.

'Er, OK. Great. I wasn't… I didn't… I just… She… Would you like a drink, Captain?'

His mother swept towards her, thrusting one of the two champagne glasses that she was holding into her hand and she found herself overwhelmed by Martha's theatrically enthusiastic welcome as she was ushered into the room. By contrast, Esposito greeted her with a cautious nod and a raised glass and Ryan managed a nervous smile. She'd either have to work on making them feel more comfortable or leave early. She hadn't yet decided which.

Alexis approached her and Gates took the outstretched hand in both of her own. The young Castle really did have very nice manners and Gates found herself again respecting Richard Castle's parenting skills.

'Thank you very much for everything you did to help find me, Captain Gates. I can't tell you how grateful I am.'

'You are most welcome, Alexis, though I think the French police did the hardest part. I'm sorry that you hard such a terrible experience just because you made friends with a fellow student.' The girl looked a little uncomfortable and Gates admired her loyalty to her friend. 'Tell me, when are you going back to college?'

Two glasses of champagne later, she found herself chatting quite easily to Ryan and his wife. Castle was flitting around, topping up glasses and obviously not following any of the conversations. He kept checking his watch as if time was going too fast for him or maybe too slow.

'Let's eat. I'm sure Kate won't mind if we start. Don't you agree Richard?' Martha wafted towards Gates, her extravagant multi-coloured wrap billowing behind her, taking the Captain's arm to lead her in the direction of the food.

'Huh?' Castle dragged his eyes away from his watch to look at his mother.

'I said Kate won't mind.'

'Mind what?'

'If we start. The food!'

'Oh. No, she won't… I… Maybe I should call her. She should be here by now.' He turned away, pulling out his phone and Gates sighed. Martha looked at her with narrowed eyes before gesturing to the others to join them at the table.

As they were sitting down there was a rap on the door and, before Alexis could stand up, Castle sped across the room like an excited schoolboy. Gates caught a glimpse of Detective Beckett, her face lit up by a smile more dazzling than she'd ever seen grace her face before, and then her view was blocked by Castle's broad back. His head bent down and then stopped before he glanced over his shoulder and stepped out of her view.

'You must try the crab salad, Captain.' Martha passed a bowl towards her and she allowed her attention to be diverted by the wonderful food until she heard the door close.

'Kate, darling, you're home at last. Come and join us. Richard, get the poor girl a glass of champagne.'

Greetings were exchanged as Kate casually dropped her coat over a chair and joined them at the table.

'Wow, Alexis, love that colour,' Kate said, sitting in the vacant seat between the girl and Esposito.

'Today's therapy session. I'll show you the rest later,' Alexis added, dropped her voice and glancing conspiratorially towards her father.

'That's my kind of therapy,' Kate laughed, helping herself to the sushi.

Conversation flowed as freely as the wine and Castle didn't, as Gates had feared he would, spend the whole evening casting mooncalf eyes at Beckett, but instead he shared his attention liberally across his all his guests. The humour and charm that were so out of place in her precinct made him an excellent host and she found herself genuinely enjoying his company so that it was with some regret that she stood up first from the table to say her farewells.

'I'll get your coat,' Castle said and Martha walked her to the door.

'It was lovely to get the chance to spend some time with you, Captain,' Martha said in response to her thanks. She gave her a searching look before continuing in a lower voice, 'Captain, you're no fool but I'm not sure that the same can be said of those two. And you know exactly what I'm talking about. They really believe – or want to believe – that you don't know what's going on but you and I both know that they're kidding themselves. It's none of my business how you run your precinct but those kids are really good for each other and they make a hell of a team. I don't suppose a mathematician would agree with me, but sometimes the whole is more than the sum of its parts.' She patted her hand as Castle reappeared and helped her into her coat.

* * *

Gates settled into the back of her cab and considered the evening. She'd been taken aback by Martha's direct approach but not at all surprised that she'd realised that Castle and Beckett's pathetic attempts to hide their relationship didn't dupe her. Mrs Rodgers was an astute woman and recognised another one when she saw her. Gates had actually enjoyed herself far more than she'd expected. Of course, until Beckett had arrived, Castle's efforts to hide his feelings had been both hopeless and irritating, but then the fun had started as she'd looked for their tells. The casual way Detective Beckett had dropped her coat, as if she did the same thing every day; Martha's saying 'you're home' instead of 'you're here'; Alexis' ease with Beckett, filling her in on what she'd missed. They were just some of the signs that made her wonder just how little time Kate spent in her own apartment. And, no doubt, they thought that the way they didn't steal glances at each other across the table was rather clever when it simply confirmed that they were so comfortable in each other's company. The biggest tell of all was how Castle relaxed as soon as Beckett arrived because she made him complete. Yes, Gates enjoyed a challenge and it was so much more fun when she had to work a little harder to spot the clues. She was, after all, a detective. What she was going to do with all this evidence was the difficult question.

* * *

'That went well,' Castle said, when they finally closed the bedroom door.

'Yeah, a great evening,' Kate slipped off her shoes and started to undress. 'Gates didn't have a clue.'

'I know! She's completely fooled by our Jedi powers.'

'Tell me something, Castle, just how far did you follow Martha and Alexis on their shopping trip today?'

'Only as far as the front door of Saks. I thought that after that store detective questioned me in DKNY yesterday, I shouldn't loiter in women's fashion again.'

'Well, that's some progress. I'm off tomorrow so I'll see if I can take your mind off things while they're out.' She raised her brows at him, running her teeth over her bottom lip.

He stepped out of his pants, watching her strip down to her underwear until his attention was distracted by one of his shirt buttons that had got tangled on a loose thread.

'Looks like you're falling behind there, Obi Wan. Your Jedi powers need a bit of help?' Kate came over to him and he dropped his hands to her waist as she deftly released the button and slid her hands inside his shirt. He pulled her against his chest with one hand, unpinning her hair from its French pleat with the other.

'I missed you, Beckett.'

Kate's fingers stretched out along his back and she smiled up at him. 'Did you struggle to undress yourself again, Castle?'

'You have no idea.'

And she stood on tiptoes to meet his open mouth with her own.


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter. An awful year has continued with the death of a family member and I haven't felt like writing until today. This started as some light-hearted fluff to cheer me up but it's morphed into something else, probably because of what I've seen about AMs plans for the rest of the season. **

Kate stretched her hand out towards Castle without taking her eyes from her book. He guided her fingers around the handle of the mug, careful to ensure that she had a good grip and wouldn't burn herself on the hot coffee, and then he slipped back into bed beside her, picking up the _New Yorker_ and flicking to the fiction reviews. In a few weeks his latest novel might appear on those pages but right now the only critic that he was interested in was propped up on the pillows beside him, eagerly devouring the final chapter of _Storm Front_.

How lucky was he? Kate Beckett was in his bed. Reading. Many beautiful women had spent time in his bed but only Kate regularly read there. Of course, they didn't only read. They talked in bed, sharing the stories of their day, telling each other secrets that nobody else knew. Sometimes they ate breakfast, drank coffee, sipped wine. They slept entwined in each other's arms. And they laughed. A lot. Often while making love. This was new for him and he guessed it was for her too. Sure, sex had been fun before but it never been such fun and meant so much. He smiled to himself as he thought about how she'd woken him up that morning.

'Castle, staring at me won't make me read any quicker,' Kate said, sipping her coffee.

'You could finish it later,' he said, hopefully.

'But you want my review.'

'Yeah, but I want to talk to you too.'

She put her coffee on her bedside table and turned the book over, resting it on her legs. 'OK. Talk,' she said, clutching her knees with her arms and twisting towards him.

He opened his mouth and closed it again and she sighed.

'Castle, you said you want to talk. So talk.'

'Not about anything in particular. I just wanna, you know, chat.'

'You know that I haven't had time to read for days because of the case and I've just got a few pages left. Can't you wait to chat until I'm finished?'

'But it is getting all of your attention.'

'Seriously? Are you seriously jealous of your own book?'

'No! What? No! … But…'

'You are ridiculous. You're a writer. You want your readers to be absorbed by your books, don't you?

'Yeah, but I miss you.' He trailed his fingers lightly across her bare shoulder and down to the neck of his t-shirt that had slipped down almost to her elbow.

'Castle go away. Go shower or make breakfast or write a book. Just leave me alone for ten minutes.' She softened her words with her fingers on his cheek. 'I'll come and find you when I'm finished.'

He reached up for her hand but she took it away to turn over the book, stretching out her legs and resting back on the pillows so she could again devote herself to his written words.

* * *

Castle didn't hear Kate open the shower door but he wasn't startled by the feel of her soft hands slipping round to his chest and her body pressing against his back. He hummed at the feel of her mouth just where his neck met his shoulder.

'Loved the book,' she murmured. 'Great ending.'

'Really? You liked it?'

He felt her nod, her tongue sliding up and down the top of his spine before she lifted her mouth to his ear.

'I think Nikki Heat needs some of her writer's time now,' she whispered. She nipped his ear lobe and he moaned, trying to twist to face her.

'Stay there. Let me help you with research for your next Nikki novel,' she said, kissing his neck and sliding her hands down his slick chest, down his tense abdomen and on down.

* * *

'So, what shall we do today?' Kate unwrapped the towel from her hair, letting her wet curls tumble around her shoulders. She sat up at the kitchen counter, watching him pour fresh coffee.

'I think we've done accomplished a lot already, but I'll be ready for more after breakfast.' He waggled her eyebrows at her and she grinned.

'We should go out. You've hardly left the loft since you got back. Except to follow Alexis. And me. Creepy.' She wrinkled her nose, taking a sip of the fresh coffee he'd just poured for her.

'Well, you're the cop but I think if we do that in the street we might get arrested.'

Kate rolled her eyes at him.

'I'm hungry…'

'Have you worked up an appetite, Detective?'

'… and it's nearly lunchtime…'

'I'll make pancakes.'

'…so let's get brunch.'

'Hmmm, now that sounds like a plan.'

'Race you dressed,' she said, running back to the bedroom.

'I'm better at racing you naked,' he called, rushing after her.

* * *

The lunchtime crowd hadn't arrived at Barney's yet and the breakfasters were long gone. At the weekend the place would be filled with fashionable New Yorkers but it was safe bet for a quiet Friday brunch. Kate knew that Castle would have loved to take her to one of the trendy places on Upper East Side that he used to frequent, but as long as they were keeping their relationship secret from Gates, they had to be careful not to make the gossip columns. They'd settled into a rhythm that was successfully keeping the Captain in the dark and they needed to stick to it.

Kate peeked at Castle over the top of her menu. He was charming Barney as usual, ordering champagne cocktails and sashimi to start. She loved being with him and missed him when she wasn't. They'd spent months together, living in the moment, not questioning how they'd got there or where they were going. She began to wonder when exactly she'd first fallen for him and when he had decided that bedding her wouldn't be enough.

'Did you want to sleep with me as soon as we met?' she asked when Barney had taken their order.

'Yes. That's a leading question for brunch, isn't it?'

'Well you wanted to talk, so let's talk.'

'OK. It took about half an hour. I can't hide that being interrogated by you was a major turn on. More to the point, you obviously wanted to get into my pants as soon as you saw me.'

'What? I did not. It took me much longer.'

'How long exactly?' He leant across the table towards her.

'Hey, I'm asking the questions?' She put her elbows on the table and scooted forward so that her face was almost touching his.

'Not anymore.' His eyes held hers and she felt a stir of desire. God, how did he do that to her? She sat back, taking a deep breath.

'Fine. I admit that you were attractive in an irritating and repellent kind of way, even when I was busting your ass in the interrogation room. But,' she added as he looked smug, 'I felt more repelled than anything else.'

'When then?' he asked, the smug grin replaced by the sulky little boy look that she found so hard to resist. She reached out to tease his fingers with her own.

'I guess you grew on me. I gradually began to realise that you weren't a complete jackass.' She pondered, letting him wind his fingers around hers, gazing across at him and feeling a smile tease up the corners of her mouth. 'I know that I hated it when you went to the Hamptons with Gina.'

'I did ask you to come but you were all gooey eyed over Demming.' He spat out the name, as if it were a sour plum.

'Yeah, he was kinda cute.' She smiled as his brow snapped into a frown.

Their cocktails and sashimi arrived and he released her fingers, making space for the waiter to put down their plates. Kate played with her glass, watching him through her lashes.

'I broke up with him so I could go with you, you know,' she said quietly, when they were alone again.

'You did?' His change of expression to hopeful puppy made her laugh out loud.

'But then you went with Gina.'

'If I'd known, if I'd had any idea…'

'But you stayed with her.' Now it was Kate's turn to look vulnerable. He shrugged.

'You weren't available. I didn't think you were interested. And then motorcycle doctor boy came along… But there was no magic with Gina.' He reached for her hand again. 'With you there was – is – always magic. I knew you were getting to like me but when we kissed, even though it was undercover, it blew my mind, Kate.'

'Me too.' She squeezed his hand, continuing to hold tight when Barney came over to check that the food was all right.

'You haven't eaten your sashimi, Mr Castle. Is there a problem?'

'No, it's great thanks, Barney, like always.' He looked across to Kate and they smiled at each other.

Barney beamed down at them, his hands resting on the top of his ample stomach. Not eating their food, holding hands almost the whole time, secret smiles; he'd seen it all before. He wouldn't be surprised if Mr Castle wasn't down on one knee with a ring in his hand before lunchtime was over.

'Good. Great food should be savoured. Take your time and enjoy your lunch.' He chuckled and turned away.

Castle played with a piece of salmon before continuing, 'But you were with Josh…' He let his words trail off and she knew that he was waiting for an explanation.

'Josh was… tall.' He huffed, releasing her hand again to snare the salmon with his chopsticks. She put him out of his misery quickly, adding, 'and safe. I wasn't ready to risk my heart and I knew that would be a problem if I let you in.'

His smile was warm and tender and despite herself, she felt a blush steal up her cheeks. She was suddenly shy. She'd never told him she loved him, at least not when he was listening. Was now the right time? She hesitated and he filled the silence.

'I really, really didn't like him, you know.'

'I think you would if you got to know him,' she said relieved that the conversation had lightened.

'No, trust me on this, Kate. I wouldn't.'

She smiled. 'So you don't want to ask him round for lunch?'

'No. Why? Have you seen him?'

The fear on his face was comical and for a moment she was tempted to string him along but she knew that his egotistical veneer masked an unexpected insecurity and it would be cruel to play with that. Well, not for long.

'Seen him?' She dipped some yellow tail into her soy sauce and popped it in her mouth, chewing slowly, her brows raised innocently at Castle. He stared at her in silence, fingers drumming on the starched white tablecloth.

She swallowed her fish and reached for another piece.

'Kate!' She let out a bark of laughter.

'You are sooo easy. No, I haven't seen him. We didn't part on the best of terms.'

'Oh?'

'He had this crazy idea that all the time I was with him I was actually in love with you.'

'Oh…'

Kate realised what she'd said. Opening number two came and went as the rest of their food arrived. They ate in silence for a few minutes. She should tell him – she needed to tell him – but not here. Not in public.

'I've never cheated on anybody, Castle. It's not what I do. But I nearly gave into temptation when we were in LA.'

'Damn. All these missed opportunities. I did think the walls of Jericho were a bit shaky…

'It Happened One Night? I love that movie.'

'Me too. Let's watch it on our next movie night. But then you closed your door…'

'And you were gone when I opened it again.'

'You opened it? Damn and double damn! All that lost time to make up.'

She laughed again. 'I think we've been doing a pretty thorough job of that.'

'True.'

'So, was there a moment for you…? A point when you just… When you thought that I might be more than a notch on your bedpost.'

She waited as he chewed his lobster. She still wondered sometimes if she was more than a notch. They'd become comfortable with each other but was this relationship going anywhere?

'Wow! I don't think there was ever a time that you would have just been a notch. Two notches maybe… Ouch!' He reached down to rub his shin where she'd just kicked him. 'I was intrigued by you almost as soon as I met you. And you grew on me too. I'm not exactly sure when I fell in love with you but I think it was about the time that motorcycle boy turned up in his leathers. Did I mention that I really, really didn't like him, by the way?'

He'd said it again. He'd fallen in love with her. Her turn. But they needed to get out of here.

'You had enough to eat?' she asked, wiping her mouth with her napkin.

'Umm, satiated. For food anyway.' He gave her a seductive look, and she smiled back.

'Walk back?'

'Perfect.'

* * *

White and purple crocuses were heralding the first truly spring day in Central Park. It had been a long winter but Kate was almost sorry it was coming to an end. She loved summer but curling up with Castle in front of an open fire when the snow was falling outside, had kept her warm on the coldest of nights. She slipped her arm through his and they slowed to a stroll, skirting the boating pond.

'That day, when I was shot, and you told me that you loved me, I thought I was dying but the last thing I remembered was being happy.' He unwrapped his arm from hers and squeezed her shoulders tight. She didn't look up but she could feel his emotion and she slipped her arm around his waist. 'But I didn't die and when I woke up it was all so complicated. I'm sorry…'

'I know, Kate. Shhh.'

'No, Castle, I need to say this. I was wrong to pretend that I didn't remember. I thought I wasn't ready but I didn't think about how that affected you and I'm sorry…'

'Kate…' He pulled her even closer to her.

'I knew then that I wanted to be with you.'

'And now we're together so it doesn't matter anymore.'

'Yes it does.'

'No, it doesn't, Kate, except as part of our back-story. Now is what matters. Not what happened a year ago or two years ago. You're happy now, aren't you?'

'I am, but…'

'But what?' He interrupted, turning to look at her, his blue eyes suddenly serious.

'Don't you wonder where we're going, Castle? What about next year? Where will we be then?' She hadn't planned for the day to turn into anything more than a relaxing day together. Sometimes she found herself thinking about their future together but in a vague, embarrassingly romantic way, but now, out of the blue, when she'd been on the verge of telling him how much she loved him, she found herself needing to know if he ever even thought about what came next.

'We're having fun, aren't we? We're happy. Do we need to think beyond that?' He held her by her shoulders, searching her face, as if he'd missed a clue and needed to find it.

'Yes. No. Let's just go home Castle.' She turned out of his hold and linked her fingers through his. It was a beautiful spring day and she'd only just got him back. She needed time to think through what she was doing and to decide if she was prepared to risk what they had to get answers to questions that she hadn't even properly formulated in her own mind. She thought back to her previous relationships and how she'd always run for cover when the men had started talking about the future. Was she ready for Castle to run? She squeezed his hand as they walked on but she didn't look up, afraid of what she might see in his face.

**OK. That's not where I thought I was going but I now have a plan for what will happen next. And it involves Gates! Please let me know what you think. With such a long gap between chapters, it would be good to know if you kind readers are still interested in this.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

A wall. Not hers this time. And not his. This one was a joint effort and they'd built it in record-breaking time. Kate shifted in her chair, stealing a glance at Castle around her newspaper. He said he needed to write because the deadline for his new Nikki novel was looming and he'd fallen behind over the last few weeks. She'd followed him into his study, curling up on a chair while he sat at his desk, because she usually did and if she didn't it would be like taking a step away. His laptop was open but the keyboard was silent, his idle fingers resting on the desk and his gaze fixed on the wall opposite. His face was immobile, the straight line of his mouth unusually forbidding. He seemed to sense her scrutiny and she took refuge behind the broadsheet as his eyes flicked towards her. What she really wanted was to be alone so that she had time to work out what had happened and to identify what was gnawing at her, but she wasn't going anywhere. She sensed that if she left now he'd interpret her departure as a signal and that might break something that had suddenly become fragile.

On the way back through the park they'd chatted about safe stuff; Barney's excellent lobster sauce, Alexis' imminent return to college, the new musical opening on Broadway, the weather. The weather! They'd never talked about the weather. Oh, in a 'It's hot. Let's get naked' way for sure, but not in a 'Isn't it warm for the time of year?' way. After that, conversation had dried up. Kate couldn't remember ever feeling that ill at ease with Castle before. Sure, there had been times when things had been awkward between them but not like this, because now they were together and there was too much to lose.

She needed to say something because the silence was way beyond uncomfortable and she put down her paper to find him staring at her. Despite everything she couldn't help but smile at his look of wide-eyed concern, the answering crinkle round his beautiful eyes and the upturn of the corners of his mouth warming her and reassuring her for a moment before the brief spell was broken by the sound of the front door opening and the commotion of Martha and Alexis returning from yet another day of retail therapy.

'Ah, you're here. Have you been in all day? I won't ask what you've been up to. I still have my imagination.' Martha, resplendent in yellow jacket and green dress, dropped her numerous bags inside the door of the office.

'Ah, Mother, subtle as ever. Actually, we've been out enjoying good food and the spring weather. I don't think you two could have seen much of the sunshine today from the look of all that.' Castle stood up to give Martha a peck on the cheek and looked past her to the shopping that had doubled in size now that Alexis had followed her in.

'Is there anything left to buy on Fifth Avenue?' Castle asked, hugging Alexis.

'Nothing worth having, Kiddo,' Martha said, resting her hand on Kate's shoulder.

'You must come with us next time, Kate. I could do with some help slowing Grams down.' Alexis, eyes bright and cheeks rosy, propped herself on the desk as if exhausted and Kate laughed.

'Yes darling, you must. Rodgers and Castle women are expert shoppers so you'd better get into practice.' Kate flushed at Martha's words and kept her eyes well away from Castle's face.

'Come on, Kate. Let me show you what I bought. I've got a fantastic dress for the Columbia summer ball.' Alexis, apparently refreshed after just seconds, bounced up and grabbed Kate's arm.

'Hey, you always used to show me what you'd bought,' Castle whined and Kate, fearful of the consequences of coming between him and his daughter, threw him an apologetic glance as she followed Alexis from the room but far from looking upset, his face was lit by a watery-eyed grin.

* * *

When the whirlwind that was his mother had taken herself off to try to squeeze her newest purchases into her closet, Castle slumped back into his chair, the pensive look returning to his face. He'd spent the afternoon going over their conversation in Barney's, trying to recall every word. He was sure that everything was fine until they got to the park. She'd apologised again for claiming not to remember when he'd first told her that he loved her and then she'd started talking about where they'd be next year. He'd said the wrong thing but he was floundering here because he wasn't sure what he should have said. He knew where he wanted to be in a year's time. The same place he wanted to be in five years, ten years and fifty years' time. With Kate. But he couldn't say that because, although her walls had come tumbling down, she was still Beckett, beautiful, maddening, infuriating, remarkable, independent, commitment phobic Katherine Beckett. It was better to carry on as they were than to force the issue, but now he was worried that their relationship that had started the morning like a moist, Spring oak leaf that could be squeezed tight but would always bounce back to carry on growing, had turned into a crisp dried up leaf of the Fall that would crumble in his fingers if he didn't treat it with proper care. He sat back and closed his eyes, squeezing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He wasn't sure how he could make it better but he knew that he had to figure it out.

'You OK?' He hadn't heard her come downstairs but she was standing in the doorway, her cheeks sucked in with concern, highlighting her exquisite bone structure.

'Yeah, fine. How was the dress?'

'Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Castle, Alexis wants to go back to college tomorrow.' She leant against the doorframe, gauging his reaction.

'But we'd agreed she'd take another week.' He paused before adding, 'she asked you to tell me?'

'Yeah. I think… she just wanted you to have time to think about it before she talks to you.' She bit her lip nervously. So, Alexis had asked Kate to be her envoy. He should be mad that she hadn't just talked to him but if she thought she needed a go-between he was happy it was Kate. They'd spent more time together since Paris and he knew that they'd had some long chats.

'Do you think she's ready?'

She nodded. 'I do.'

'Then… Wow.' He was looking past Kate at the beautiful redhead behind her, in a full length dark green strapless evening dress. 'Stunning is right.'

Kate smiled at the girl and moved out of the way to let her into the room.

'I thought you'd like a fashion show,' Alexis said, spinning round on one heel, her hair fanning out behind her.

'I guess you really are all grown up now and I can't keep you all to myself any longer.'

Alexis glanced at Kate and she nodded her support. 'Which is why…'

'I know. You're ready to go back to Columbia.'

'Because I don't want to fall too far behind and there's a really interesting visiting lecturer from CERN this week and I've been out most days with Grams anyway and if I stay home any longer you might not have any money left and...'

'You had me at CERN. I'll drive you back in the morning.'

She leant down to hug him. 'Thanks Dad. Oh, and I'll need a boost to my allowance because it's been really expensive being at home.'

As she straightened, she mouthed a silent thank you to Kate.

'Sometimes she's just like you, Castle,' Kate said as Alexis disappeared back upstairs to start packing.

'Yeah?' He grinned at her as she answered her phone. From her side of the conversation he gathered that another body had dropped.

'I'm sorry. I have to go.'

He was on his feet, following her out of the room. 'I'll come with you.'

'No. You should stay. It's Alexis' last night at home.' She was already gathering up her things and he knew that she was right; he should stay home with Alexis but it felt wrong to let her go without him when there was this mystifying thing between them that needed to be dealt with.

'Richard, you really need to do something about that ridiculously small closet in my room. How you expect me to manage is beyond me.' Martha sailed down the stairs, distracting him for long enough for Kate to give him a quick peck on the cheek on her way to the front door.

'Wait, Kate… Mother, not now. Kate…'

'Got to go, Castle. Talk later.'

'Call me,' he pleaded, as she pulled the door shut.

* * *

'OK girl, spit it out,' Lanie said, putting down her glass on the lamp table beside her.

Kate hesitated in her progress across the room. She should have known better than to think that a girls' night in with Lanie could be anything other than an inquisition. She didn't know if it was her medical training or some natural instinct honed by spending her time with patients who never answered her questions, but Lanie had an uncanny ability to sniff out problems.

'I don't know what you're talking about.' Kate took a detour around the coffee table, avoiding her friend's eyes on her way to the far end of the couch.

'Kate Beckett, don't you give me that. I know there's something up and you know that I'm going to find out what it is so you might as well save us both drinking time and spill. What's Castle done now?'

'Nothing! He hasn't done anything.' Kate sipped at her glass, tucking her legs underneath her. She was an expert interrogator and knew all the secrets. She could stretch a silence until it felt like the air itself would snap but she was no match for the Medical Examiner. She felt her resolve wilting and glanced up to see Lanie with her arms crossed below her bust and her eyes trained unwaveringly on her face. Those eyes narrowed into the look, the one that made grown men – especially Esposito – quake, and Kate knew that she had lost the battle.

'He really hasn't done anything wrong, it's just…' She chewed her lip and then took another sip of wine, playing for time. She'd got much better at talking about her worries but it still didn't come naturally for her to share her innermost thoughts. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to her friend but she knew that the only thing that would really help would be talking to Castle and that was the one thing she didn't feel able to do.

'It's just that the last few days, things have been a bit uncomfortable. We haven't been as relaxed together as usual. We can usually talk about anything and nothing for hours but since Friday…'

'Friday? What happened on Friday?'

* * *

'You want another beer, Castle? I'll get them in.' Esposito held his hand up to the barman at The Old Haunt, and made a circle with his finger over the glasses on the table.

'Thanks,' Castle said, absent-mindedly opening a pistachio nut.

'Anytime bro. Always happy to get another round when you're paying.'

Had Castle looked up, he would have seen Esposito and Ryan exchange concerned glances. They'd suggested a drink to celebrate Alexis returning to college but the real reason was that he'd been strangely detached for the last few days and they wanted to get him away from Beckett to find out what was up. He hadn't even been excited about a boys' night out and they'd had to persuade him not to invite the girls along.

Castle cracked another nut. He wondered what Kate and Lanie were up to. From previous experience, he knew that if there were any issues between him and Kate, they would often come to a head if she spent an evening with Lanie. And there was definitely something brewing. They'd been dancing around each other as if there were eggshells strewn around their feet for days and he knew that there was a risk he'd soon be ankle deep in yolk.

'So, what's up with you and Beckett?' Esposito asked. Ryan gave him a wide-eyed stare and he shrugged, taking a slurp of his beer.

'Ha? What do you mean?'

'Come on. We're your partners. What have you done now?'

* * *

'Friday?'

'You said since Friday.'

'I did?' Lanie rolled her eyes at Kate. She'd got her teeth into that bone now and there would be no shaking her off. Kate saw the screen of her phone light up and grabbed it before it even started to ring. Caller ID told her it was the precinct and she felt a pang of disappointment that it wasn't Castle. What was that about? She'd been relieved to get away earlier any now she was missing him?

'Precinct,' she said to Lanie. 'Beckett.

* * *

'Nothing. I've done nothing… at least if I have… I guess I must…'

Ryan's phone rang and he kept his eyes on Castle as he opened his jacket and reached into his inside pocket.

'Ryan.'

* * *

Castle saw Kate as soon as he got out of the elevator. She must have just arrived as she was taking off her jacket to reveal the linen sweater he'd bought for her that draped enticingly over her breasts and hung loosely over her skin-tight black jeans. Her hair was in a messy pony-tail and she looked completely adorable.

'Hey!'

'Oh, hey. You didn't need to come in.'

'Don't you…Would you rather I hadn't?'

'No! No, I'm really happy that you're here. But your boys' night…'

'Ryan and Esposito were coming anyway and as you were here…'

'Right. That's good. Yeah. Er... Where are the boys?' She was fidgeting with a loose strand of hair and biting her lip.

'Just on their way up. They were giving me a bit of a hard time in the car so I jumped out as soon as we got here.'

'You ran away?' She smiled, a genuine smile that reached her eyes and warmed his heart.

'No! OK, maybe I ran a bit.' They both laughed and he reached out to touch her arm but she stepped back, looking over his shoulder.

'Detective Beckett, I hear we've got both suspects.'

'Yes, Sir. I'm going to interrogate Roberts now. Esposito and Ryan will take Jones.' She nodded to the boys who had just arrived.

Esposito nudged Castle as he passed him. 'This isn't over. We will break you,' he whispered and Castle escaped to make coffee.

* * *

Captain Gates had been keeping a close eye on Beckett and Castle since he'd rejoined the team. At first she thought that they must have worked out that she was on to them and they were being extra careful. Well, that was a good thing even if it did spoil her fun a bit. But by the end of Castle's first day back she'd realised that all was not well. She was used to their supposedly secret looks and surreptitious touching but now she kept catching out Castle casting fleeting looks at Beckett at her desk or the murder board when the detective wasn't looking, and Beckett was doing the same to him. And more than once she'd seen one of them reach other to touch the other only to let their hand fall and not because they thought she was looking. It reminded her of when she'd arrived and they weren't yet a couple. And what had happened to that ridiculous banter they usually engaged in that so often led to breakthroughs in a case? They had clearly gone astray somewhere and – for the good of the team – they needed to be steered back on course. That they were still besotted with each other was obvious and they wouldn't be behaving like this if they'd had an argument. What they needed was close confinement without interruptions and she knew exactly how to organise that.

'Detective Beckett. Mr Castle. A word please.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you so much for your continuing support for this little story. I'm really grateful. It makes all the difference to know that what I've written gives some people enjoyment and doesn't mess too much with your views about these great characters. I am trying to reply to all your reviews but I thought you'd prefer that I get on with writing. This is a very short chapter, setting up what will be a much longer and probably final, chapter. **

Chapter 12

Castle looked at Kate who just shrugged and walked past Gates who was standing guard at her office door. He followed and the Captain closed the door behind them, gesturing with the glasses in her hand towards the chairs.

'Any progress with the case?' Gates sat on her desk and looked from one to the other.

'Roberts has alibied out. We're still checking on Jones but…'

'Good. Very good.'

Kate eyes widened and she opened and closed her mouth in surprise before, continuing slowly. 'Sir, I'm afraid that means that we're running out of leads.'

'Actually, Detective, I came across something in the archives that may prove to be very useful.' Gates reached behind her for a file and started to open it before snapping it shut.

'You know, I think that it would be far better if I show you. Come with me.' She led them out the door and across the bullpen. Beckett extended her stride to keep pace with the Captain who was taking short but rapid steps towards the elevator.

'I came across something that I think could be exactly what you need to help you move forward.' She stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for B2.

'Sir, the archives are on B1,' Beckett said, practical as ever.

'Ah, but have you ever been to the lower basement? It's amazing what you can find down there.' Gates kept her eyes on the floor indicator.

'Is that where they keep all the really secret evidence? Maybe our victim was abducted by aliens.' Inevitably, Castle was enjoying this far more than his muse.

'Oh, there's certainly some unusual stuff down here.' Gates stepped aside to let in some uniforms on the first floor.

'Shiny!' Castle's face had lit up like a five year old on his birthday and Gates noticed that although Beckett rolled her eyes at him, there was no mistaking the affection in her look.

The uniforms got out on B1 and the lift continued to carry the three of them down, the doors opening to reveal a dimly lit corridor lined with doors.

'Cool,' Castle said,

'This way. I have to tell you I was very surprised when I found this. I think we'd better keep it to ourselves for now. I'm not sure who we can trust with this information…' Gates stopped and tilted her head to one side. 'Did you hear that?'

'No,' said Beckett.

Gates ignored her and held up a finger. 'Someone's coming. Quick. In here. I'll head them off.' She bundled Castle and Beckett through the door on her left, slamming it behind them. She'd oiled the lock in advance so that the bolt slipped silently into place and she finally gave way to the laughter that had been bubbling up inside her since she'd drawn them into her office. It was a crude intervention but she expected it be effective. An hour down here should sort them out.

She was still smiling to herself when she got back to the bullpen, earning sideways glances from Ryan and Esposito. She quelled them with a lift of her chin and dropped the file she'd been holding onto Ryan's desk.

'Vice sent this up a short time ago. I think you'll find that this blows Jones' alibi to pieces.'

'Great. I'll have a word with Beckett…'

'She's gone for the evening, Detective. I'm sure that you two are perfectly capable of tidying up this one yourselves.' She gave them a half smile before returning to her office.

Ryan and Esposito set to work on the file only to be distracted by something that sounded like chuckling from Captain Gates' office. They looked up to see her drop a key into her desk drawer.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for the great reviews for the last couple of chapters. Really glad that you're still enjoying it. I didn't get everything I wanted into this chapter so there's at least one more to come. I'm very grateful and very touched by the reviewers and private messagers who offered kind words and sympathy. For those who asked, it was a much loved uncle and it was completely unexpected. **

**But back to Rick and Kate, ****together in a dark room thanks to clever Captain Gates. Enjoy****.**

Chapter 13

The door slammed leaving them in darkness. They both stood still, waiting for their eyes to adjust but the blackness was complete.

'What the… Castle?' Kate whispered

'Shhh. I can hear something. It sounds like… Listen.'

Kate, reaching out in the direction of his voice, found his neck and then her wrist was grasped tightly and he was pulling her towards him. She felt his chest against hers and then cold metal on her cheek.

'Is that laughter?' she gasped, squeezing her ear tight against what must be the door. 'Is Gates laughing? What the hell is going on?'

'Can you hear anyone else?' He asked.

'No.' As they listened the laughter grew distant.

'I can't hear anything now. Can you?' she asked.

'Nothing.'

Kate slid her hand over the door. 'Handle must be on your side.'

He released his grip on her arm and she could feel him moving beside side.

'I can't find it.' His fingers brushed hers as they both sought to find the doorknob. 'Wait, I've got something. It's weird.'

Kate spread her hands out until she found his, and let her fingers roam over his and into the dip in the metal that he had found. She closed her eyes, which she knew was pointless as she couldn't see anything anyway, but it somehow helped her to visualise what it was. The top was level with her mouth. She calculated it was about two inches deep, around four inches long and maybe three inches high. She ran a finger round the edge. It was definitely a separate piece of metal but it must have overlapped from the outside. There was nowhere to squeeze even a fingernail underneath.

'It's a hatch,' they said together and Kate felt the familiar surge she got whenever they reached a conclusion at the same time.

Castle said, 'If it's a hatch,'

'then we're in a cell,'

'and if we're in a cell,'

'there's no way out,'

'until Gates comes back.' Castle finished their thought pattern.

'What the hell is going on? Castle, there must be a light switch. Help me find it.'

They searched the wall on either side of the door but it was completely smooth.

'Damn. It must be a central control outside.' Kate leant back against the wall.

'We'll just have to wait for Gates to come back.' Castle slid his back down the wall to sit on the floor and, after a moment of hesitation, Kate did the same.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, both trying to make sense of what had happened until Kate's patience snapped.

'This is crazy,' she said, standing up and shouting against the door, 'Hello? Is there anyone out there? Hello? Help! We're locked in.'

'Shhh! Kate. Remember, Gates said she didn't knew who we can trust.'

'Castle, that's ridiculous. What did that mean? And what could something down here have to do with the case?'

'Why else would she have brought us here?'

'I don't know but none of this makes any sense. I'm going to phone the boys. She should be back by now.'

'Phones! Why didn't we think of that sooner.' They both delved into their pockets and within seconds a dim glow lit up their faces from their mobile screens.

'No signal. You?' she asked.

'Nada.'

'But you've got that torch app, right?'

'Er, just got the new 5. I haven't added it yet. Still, at least we have some light and there are positives.'

'Really?' she snapped, slowly working her way clockwise around the room under the glimmer of light in her hand.

'We do have some useful experience of being locked up together in confined spaces,' he said, setting off in the opposite direction.

'Hmm.'

'And this one isn't freezing.'

'I'll give you that.'

'Or a car boot.'

'True.'

'And, best of all, there are no tigers.'

She laughed and added, 'and we're not handcuffed together.'

'Is that a positive or negative?'

'As Gates should be back any moment, I'm going to go with positive,' she said.

'Ouch!'

'What?'

'I just hit my leg on something.'

'What is it?' She turned her phone towards him adding her meagre light to his.

'It's a bed! And there's some stuff on it.'

She felt her way towards him and they examined the bed as best they could.

'A candle. And a lighter. This is just weird.' Kate held up the candle and Castle lit it, revealing their cell. It was about ten feet by eight with no window.

'Castle!' Kate grabbed his arm and pointed towards a darker door size shape in the corner of the room.

'I'll take a stab at black hole leading to another dimension.'

Kate peered in, holding the candle high, but sighed in disappointment when she found it was just a small alcove with a toilet and washbasin.

Castle peered over her shoulder. 'See, I was right. A black hole. This is quite the pied-a-terre. I found more candles and you'll notice that these aren't the cheap, burn-out-in-an-hour candles; they're good quality church candles. If we're careful, they'll keep us well lit for a week.'

They spread the half a dozen candles around the floor, casting mysterious shadows on the walls of their prison. The only furniture was the narrow metal-framed bed. It did at least have a mattress, sheets and a couple of pillows.

'What do you think this is used for?' Castle asked.

Kate shrugged. 'Extra holding cells in case lock up is full? I had no idea about this place. Never been down to this floor… Hey, there's something under the bed.'

She was on her knees peering underneath. 'It's a bucket. I guess before they added the bathroom… Oh.'

'What?'

'It's an ice bucket and a bottle of champagne.'

He took it from her and she delved under the bed again, emerging with a small icebox. Castle joined her, finding plates with napkins, forks and two champagne flutes.

'Beckett, what is going on here?'

They sat on the bed and looked at each other.

'I think we're discovered a secret love nest,' he said, opening the icebox to reveal a selection of tapas. 'Oh, I love manchego cheese.'

'We can't eat it, Castle.'

'Why?' he said, continuing to unwrap the cheese.

'Whoever left this is clearly planning to be here this evening. The good news is that if Gates doesn't come back, they'll get us out but we can't eat their food.'

'Did you and Lanie eat?' He wrinkled his forehead as he looked at her.

'Well, no. We hadn't got round to it.'

'I know you're hungry. You're always grumpy when you're hungry,'

'I am not! OK, maybe a little grumpy and a lot hungry. Just the cheese though.'

'And maybe a few olives?' he said, hopefully.

She handed him a napkin and spread the other over her knees, reaching behind for the plates.

* * *

'One meatball left. Share?' Castle held it out to Kate and she took a bite, leaving much less that half for him.

'Sorry,' she said, her mouth full, 'they were just so good.'

'It's OK. Your need was greater than mine. Oops! Not much left for the lovers.' He screwed up the wax paper and added it to the other empty wrappers in the icebox, pushing it back under the bed.

'You know, the ice is melting in that bucket. Shame to let good champagne warm up, don't you think?' Kate said, wiping her mouth with the linen napkin.

'I couldn't agree more. If they didn't want us to drink it, they shouldn't have left us that salty chorizo.' He pulled the bottle from the bucket to check the label. 'And it happens to be your favourite Veuve Clicquot. May I pour you a glass, Detective?'

'I don't mind if I do, Mr Castle.' She held out the flutes as he expertly removed the cork.

'What do you think happened to Gates?' she asked between sips.

'I can't imagine. I think our good Captain may have been having some sort of episode. You don't think we're going to run out of air, do you?'

Kate shook her head and pointed to an air-brick near the ceiling.

'Someone will come soon. This is a police station.' She propped one of the pillows against the wall and leant back and Castle did they same.

'Have you heard from Alexis?'

'She's sent me lots of texts. They all say the same thing, "I'm fine. Stop texting me" and she changed her answer phone message to "Hi Dad, I'm fine. Stop calling me" so I'm guessing that she's fine.'

She laughed and he wanted to kiss her but he didn't. The adrenaline and hunger had carried them along and they'd forgotten the awkwardness that had grown in the last few days. Now, resigned to having to wait and satiated on stolen food and wine, the uneasiness settled again. They were side-by-side, shoulders close enough to feel each other's warmth but not touching.

Castle could see her hands fidgeting on her lap and he instinctively reached out to take one of them in his. Instead of twining through his, the fingers stilled and lay lifeless in his hand. He knew that she was chewing her lower lip, probably risking drawing blood.

'Kate, what are we doing?' He asked softly. He heard her take a short breath and shaky exhale.

'What do you mean?'

'You know what I mean.' He squeezed her hand but felt no response. It was as if she were frozen, unable to move. They kept their eyes ahead, both watching the monstrous dancing patterns on the wall.

'I… Castle, let's not do this now.'

'If not now, when? We can't go on like this.'

'Don't you want to go on then?'

'Of course I do. I want us to go back to how we were.' Silence hung between them and his breath became shallow in his suddenly tight chest.

'What if I don't want to go back to how we were?' Her voice was so quiet he had to strain to catch her words.

'Kate, what are you saying? Are you breaking up with me?' He could hear the panic in his own voice and he tightened his grip on her hand, turning his whole body to look at her, desperate to read her face in the inadequate light. The fingers resting in his hand suddenly convulsed into life, twisting in his grasp to entangle themselves in his.

She held his gaze for a moment before looking down at their interwoven hands. She was scared to go on. She knew him so well. He was irritating, egotistical, crazy, funny, loving, kind and impulsive and she loved all of those things – all of him. If he wanted more from their relationship he would have told her. She was scared of losing him if she demanded more that he had to offer but she needed more. She knew that now.

'Kate…'

'Castle, what I'm saying is… what we have is beautiful and fun and I honestly have never been so happy but… I want more and I don't know if you have more to give.'

He let go of her hand and moved so that her was sitting on the edge of the bed, his face in front of hers. He took her shoulders in his hands, forcing her to look at him.

'Kate, what else can I give you? I love you. You know I love you. I love you more than I have ever loved any woman; more than I even knew was possible. What more do you want?' Even in the shadowy light, he could see that her amazing hazel eyes were misty, her strong jaw working almost imperceptibly.

'I want it all, Castle. I want the happy ever after. The Darcy and Elizabeth, Jane and Rochester. And I don't know if you can give me that.'

If a heart can really miss a beat, his did. He opened his lips, ready to tell her that that's what he wanted too but she silenced him with her fingers on his mouth.

'Let me finish. You've had two weddings and two divorces and more girlfriends than I want to think about. Shhh! You've got a wonderful daughter, a successful career, an amazing life-style. I understand that you don't want to change what you have or to start over but…'

'Kate…'

'Please, Castle.' She held up her hand to silence him before continuing. 'Before I met you, I didn't even know that I wanted the fairy tale ending. I was happy keeping a foot out the door, ready to run. I knew you were different long before we got together and that if I let you in it would have to be all the way. I need to know that this isn't going to fizzle out. That we have a future because I lo…'

'Mr Castle, Detective Beckett, I'm sorry I had to leave you here so long.'

They sprung away from each other at the sound of Gates' voice, Kate taking a shaky breath and standing up while Castle, leaning back against the wall, eyes to the ceiling, let out an exasperated breath.

'Captain Gates, seriously? Now? Seriously?'

'Something came up and I couldn't get back sooner. I hope you made yourselves comfortable…' She stood in the open doorway, surveying the candles and glasses, a strangely satisfied look in her eyes.

Kate darted past her, out of the room, before Castle could react and Gates turned to follow her, leaving him to bring up the rear helplessly watching Kate rushing to the elevator ahead of them.

He tried to catch Kate's eye as they rode up to the bullpen but she seemed to find the poster about the upcoming NYPD sports day totally absorbing.

'You'll be pleased to know that Ryan and Esposito have charged Jones with murder. Vice shared some very useful information with us. So that thing I thought might be useful doesn't matter…'

Gates rambled on but he had no idea what she was saying. He was elated and frustrated and desperate to get of the elevator and away from the Captain, to find somewhere quiet where he could be alone with Kate. Beautiful, maddening, frustrating, remarkable Kate who had just admitted that she wanted to live happily ever after. With him.

She was out of the elevator before the doors had even fully opened, heading straight for the ladies room. He tried to follow but Gates halted his progress with a hand on his chest, pushing him back surprisingly firmly against the wall, her eyes narrowing as she looked up at him.

'Mr Castle, you really are such a disappointment. I arranged this perfect opportunity for you and you still can't get it right.'

'Captain, I…' He hadn't a clue what she was talking about and no interest in listening but short of pushing her out of the way he was trapped.

'Can't you get anything right? I don't…'

'Excuse me, Sir.' Castle took her shoulders and gently but firmly moved her to one side, taking off down the corridor.

Gates took a sharp intake of breath, indignation written over her face softening to a little smile. Well, at least he knew what he wanted. Perhaps there was still hope.

Castle barged into the ladies restroom and checked the cubicles but they were all empty. He ran back to the bullpen but she wasn't there either.

'Hey Castle, what the hell have you done now?' Esposito called.

'What?' He was spinning on his heels, searching for her.

'Beckett just ran out of here looking very upset. What did you do to her, man?'

'She left?' He looked at her chair. No jacket and her bag was gone. He pushed past Ryan on his way to the elevator, pressing the button repeatedly.

She wasn't on the sidewalk so she'd either taken the subway or a taxi. The traffic was slow moving and he ran into the road peering into cabs, earning himself some scared looks and rude signs but he couldn't find her.

* * *

He went straight to her apartment, only wishing when he rang the bell that he'd stopped for flowers. He rang again and again, walking back and forth in front of her door, as he waited. When she didn't answer after the fourth ring, he knocked, banging loud enough to make the old lady opposite open her door a fraction to peer at him with one eye before slamming it shut. Castle got out his key and let himself into the completely dark apartment.

**OK, don't be mad. More to come as soon as possible, I promise. **


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It was 2am when Kate let herself into her apartment. The gentle flickering of candlelight cast a warm glow confirming what she had known would be true; Castle was here, waiting for her. She'd been walking since she'd left the precinct, aimlessly at first but then to some of their favourite haunts until she'd finally ended up at the swing set. She'd sat on her swing and thought about what she'd done - what she'd broken. She knew that she shouldn't have run away; it was cowardly and pathetic but she couldn't bear to watch him withdraw from her. And what else could he do? She pinned him into a corner.

The door closed with a dull click, she hoped it was not enough to wake him but he couldn't have been asleep, appearing fully dressed from the bedroom and pulling her into his arms, holding her as if he would never let go again.

'Kate! I've been so worried. Don't ever do that to me again.' She rested her head on his broad chest, wrapping her arms around his waist and returning his embrace, enjoying for a moment his comforting scent. She could feel his lips pressed to her hair and then he rested his chin gently on her head in an achingly familiar gesture. Why wasn't this enough for her? It was more than she'd ever imagined she'd have. As so often, he seemed to understand exactly what she needed, simply holding her tight and demanding nothing, and she let herself relax into him, immersed by the feeling of safety she only ever had in his arms. When she felt ready, she lifted her head and he immediately released her, resting his hands lightly on her upper arms and looking down to examine her face.

'I've run a bath unless you just want to sleep.' The concern on his face was heart-rending and she ran her fingers along his jaw, letting them rest on his chin.

'Bath sounds perfect,' she said, mustering what she knew was a sad smile.

'You get changed and I'll top-up the hot water.' He draped an arm across her shoulders and steered her to the bedroom, leaving her sitting on the bed where he'd laid out her bathrobe. She heard water running and she undressed, her movements slowed by fatigue.

'Ready.' He smiled at her from the door and, slipping on the robe, she walked passed him to find yet more candles around the tub.

'Take your time,' he said before closing the door behind him and leaving her to lower herself into the foam filled bath, grateful not only for the care he was taking of her but also that he hadn't forced a confrontation. The bubbles rose around her as she stretched out letting the warm water ease her weary body, and tried to clear her mind of all the troubles that had been filling it.

Castle carefully folded her discarded clothes and turned back the bed so she could sink straight into the clean sheets, removing one of the pillows because he knew that she preferred to sleep with just one. When she hadn't answered his calls or texts, he didn't phone all their friends and family or search for her all over the city. He forced himself not to panic because he was confident that she'd come back here and, while he'd waited for her, he had not only tidied the apartment and lit every candle he could find, he'd also changed the bedclothes. He had no motive other than to make Kate comfortable and to ensure that she relax as much as possible. There would be plenty of time in the morning to talk. Tonight she needed to rest.

* * *

She'd slept almost soon as her head touched the pillow and woke with his arm holding her snug and the reassurance of his body against her back. He kissed her hair and she wondered how long he had been lying there awake, holding her.

'Good morning. Sleep well?' he whispered.

'Hmmm.'

'I'll make coffee.' She felt him leave and immediately missed the shelter of his body so she pulled her legs up and held them, tempted to stay like that and wait for him to come back. But she knew that they had to talk and the proximity to each other in bed would only complicate things so she forced herself to go to him rather than wait for him to come to her.

The night before the only thing she'd noticed about the living room were the candles but, with the early morning sun streaming in, she saw that the apartment was looking remarkably clean and tidy. It had been a busy week and housework was never her highest priority, more so recently as she spent less and less time here with stretches of days going by when she'd just run in and out to pick up a change of clothes. She smiled to herself, knowing her refrigerator would now be pretty much empty as he'd have thrown out all the out-of-date food and suspect looking leftovers. She sat on the couch and watched him pour coffee as she had so many times and it was only when he walked towards her, holding their mugs, that she felt the stirrings of nerves in the pit of her stomach.

'So, that was quite an evening, wasn't it? I don't know about you but I wish we'd known about the basement's basement sooner. That little cell could have come in very useful though I think it could do with some attention to interior design.'

He did his ridiculous eyebrow dance and made her smile as he handed her a mug and sat on the easy chair at right-angles to her, giving him a good view of her without encroaching on her space.

'I wonder who was using it?' Kate said, blowing her hot coffee.

'I have a theory about that. Tell you later.' He put down his mug and sat forward, hands clasped together and elbows on his knees. He wasn't going to waste time then.

'Castle, look, I'm really sorry that I put all that on you…' she started, trying to head off the inevitable but he cut her short.

'Please, Kate, listen to me. I didn't get to say much last night and if you don't mind, I like to say a few things now. Is that OK?' His eyes held hers and she nodded her agreement. Her breath was shallow and she tried not to chew on her lip but she couldn't stop herself. She saw his eyes flick to her fingers that were nervously picking at each other and she tried to still them but they seemed to have a life of their own. He didn't reach out to hold them this time.

'OK. Listening? First of all, I want you to remember a couple of things. I want you to remember how long it was before I told you that I love you even though we both know that I've loved you for a very long time and I want you to remember how long it was before I said it again. Have you ever wondered why it took me so long? I'll tell you, Kate. I was scared. We've been together almost a year and everyday I remember how lucky I am and tell myself not to say anything stupid that might ruin this because the thing that scares me more than anything about you and me is my potential to screw things up. I was lucky enough to have two shots at telling you that I love you but I knew I'd only get one shot at this.'

'Please Rick don't. Please don't say what you think I want to hear because of what I said,' she pleaded. He leant closer but kept his hands clasped together, not reaching out to touch her. His eyes didn't waver, his expression serious but not sad. If she'd had to describe it she'd say he was earnest.

'It's my turn to speak Kate and your turn to listen,' he said firmly. 'For such a remarkable, intelligent woman you can sometimes be completely clueless. You know me, Kate. You know me like nobody else has ever known me. You know I can be an impulsive idiot but you also know that when something really matters I can be terrified to make a move in case I get it wrong. Yes, I've been married twice. I can't regret being with Meredith. She gave me Alexis. And Gina, well we're still friends so that's a positive. But to say that I don't want to change my life-style because of you is not just wrong it's almost insulting.'

She opened her mouth to speak but he just shook his head and she sat back, trying to suppress the hope that was beginning to grow as she listened to him speak.

'Have you forgotten what an ass I was when you first met me? Don't you remember all those hot women that I used to be seen with?'

She rolled her eyes and his crinkled in response.

'You've been changing my life for the past five years and I want you to keep changing it. Now, this bit is a little tricky but you put yourself out there so I will too. Last night, I had a lot of time to think while I was doing your housework – by the way, there is nothing good about two-week-old Chinese take-out. And, using my considerable powers of deduction, I've identified two reasons why I was still scared that you might run. The first is Captain Gates.'

'Really?' Kate raised her brows in surprise. That was not what she expected.

'You're still worried about Gates finding out about us but we can't keep that secret forever. If you move in with me… oops! Didn't mean to mention that yet. Forget I said it.'

She laughed and picked up her coffee, her steady hands now occupied not in nervous trembling but in cradling her warm mug. The knots in her stomach had transformed into a different form of fluttering and she pulled her legs up under her, settling back again, this time to enjoy the rest of his story. He could never use ten words when a thousand would do and she loved to listen to him.

'So we need to tell Gates and take the consequences. Right?'

'I know. We'll do it together?'

'Of course. Now the other thing…'

'Castle, I think I might now what that is. May I speak now?' She put her coffee on the table and put her legs down so that her knees were resting against his thigh. She reached out to unclasp his hands taking one in each of hers, examining them before bring her eyes back up to meet his unwaveringly.

'There's something I should have told you a long time ago but I never seem to find the right moment but this is definitely a moment. I can't say exactly when I first knew this but it's been there for a long time and it used to scare me but not anymore. What I feel for you, well, you need to know that you've ruined me for everyone else. I love you Richard Castle, you egotistical, impulsive, beautiful man. I love you so much it terrifies me.'

His arms were around her waist, pulling her on to his lap, her open mouth meeting his, tongues exploring slowly, savouring each other. Her fingers sank into his hair, massaging his scalp. When they finally pulled away for air, they held each other's gaze before Kate shifted down to rest her head on his shoulder and he cradled her in his arms.

'So, move in with me? It'll make it much easier for me to do your housework and make sure that you don't end up in hospital with food-poisoning.'

She chuckled against his chest and then lifted her head to look around her.

'I've got a lot of stuff.'

'I've – we've – got a lot of space.'

'What if we got a new place together?'

He was silent for a moment. 'If that's what you want, we'll start house-hunting today.'

She squeezed him tight and kissed his neck.

'Na, I love the loft, Castle. I would love to move in with you. Thank you.'

He tightened his grip and she rested quietly against him, feeling the beat of his heart as if it were her own. secure in his embrace and happier than she had ever been.

She lifted her head, not wanting to leave any unasked questions that she knew might gnaw away at her on sleepless nights.

'Rick, can I ask you something?'

'Anything.'

'Do you think that you might want more children one day?'

'I would love to make Castle babies with you, Kate, but only if that's what you want.'

He nuzzled her hair and she settled back down, secure in his embrace and happier than she had ever been.

**Well, I think my job is done - unless anyone is interested to read about them telling Gates. I hope that you've enjoyed it. Thanks again for your fantastic support and ****encouragement. xx**


	15. Chapter 15

**Wow! You really do want another chapter, don't you? Thank you you the reviews and fantastic support. I hope this lives up to what you wanted to read.**

Chapter 15

'Caskett.' Kate straightened the collar of his jacket, letting her hands run down his chest to rest on his hips.

'Ha?' Castle said, pushing back a stray curl from her forehead.

'They'll be Caskett babies.' She smiled up at him.

'So, you definitely want…?'

'Not yet,' she cut in.

'But when you're ready,' he added.

'And when you're ready. I always thought I'd be…' she let the sentence trail off.

Castle filled in the missing word in his mind. 'I'll be ready when you are and we will be m_.' She stopped him with a finger on his lips. He kissed it and when she resumed her hold on his hips, he continued, 'but I thought we might come to that…'

'Later. Yeah.' Her smiled widened and he bent his head to kiss her gently, both of them still grinning.

'Shall we?' He nodded to the bags she'd packed.

'Yeah. Let's.' She turned towards the rumpled bed. 'Do you think that's the last time we'll do that here?'

'I doubt it. We're going to have to make a lot more trips to collect all your stuff. But if it was, I think we can proudly say that we finished on a high.'

'Oh yeah, big man, we certainly did.' He kissed her forehead and released her, picking up two suitcases while she shouldered a holdall and a small cardboard box.

As they'd lain in bed in a sweaty tangle of limbs and twisted sheets after the most amazing we're-saved-from-the-brink-of-disaster sex, he'd felt emboldened to ask if she'd move in straightaway, telling her that he wanted to wake up next to her every morning and that he needed her face to be the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes at night.

'Don't you think you should talk to Martha and Alexis first?' she'd asked, lazily tracing patterns on his chest with her fingertip.

'No need. Trust me. They both adore you. They'll say it's about time. But you must promise me that you'll always smell like cherries.' He'd buried his nose her hair in and inhaled deeply.

Keeping her head on his chest she'd looked around the bedroom.

'I like this apartment.'

'You could keep it on if you want but…'

'…that would be keeping a foot out the door. I don't need an escape route, mister.' Using his body for leverage, she'd snuggled even closer. 'I think today is a great day for moving.'

He'd enjoyed watching her pack, intrigued by what she decided were the most important things. There were clothes of course, and a ridiculous number of pairs of shoes, her cherry scented shampoo and her hair dryer. And then there was the box of precious items that she was now clutching. The first thing in had been her mother's ring, which then promptly came out again. She very rarely wore it now but she'd slipped the chain over her head, touching it like a talisman as it lay against her chest. There were a few bits of jewellery including the pieces he'd given her, and a stack of photographs, but it was the little trinkets that he'd never seen that were fascinating and he looked forward with anticipation to finding out their stories. What were the tales behind the little box full of buttons, the tiny black wooden cat, the wind-up penguin, the knitted elephant with one eye, and that brown leather glove?

'Hey, that's my glove. You stole my glove?'

'I did not. You left it behind one day and I just… You've got lots of gloves. I like this one.' She'd blushed adorably and pushed it deep into the box.

'You're not giving it back?'

'No!' She'd lifted her chin defiantly, her flushed cheeks making her look like a stubborn child and he'd grinned.

'Thank you.' She'd raised her brows in query.

'For stealing my glove.' Her blush had deepened and she'd given him a shy smile that delayed the whole packing process because he'd had to kiss her.

Finally, she'd added three shells from the top of her cabinet and her dog-eared copy of _Heat Wave_ with the extra special inscription that he'd added one night - probably wouldn't be showing that one to the kids – and they were ready to go.

* * *

John was the duty doorman in the lobby and he beamed at them as if they'd just given him his birthday and Christmas presents in one parcel. He carried the holdall and a suitcase to the elevator, reaching in to press the floor button for them. As the doors started to side shut, his face appeared in the gap and he said, 'About time too, if you don't mind me saying.'

For no good reason they found this hilarious and they were still trying to stifle their giggles like a pair of pre-schoolers when they entered the loft. They dropped the luggage inside the door and Castle took the box from Kate and carefully placed it on a table. Their giggles subsided as he drew her into his arms and kissed her tenderly.

'Welcome home, Kate,' he murmured against her lips and she wrapped her arms around his neck opening her mouth to let him in as she kissed him back.

'Richard, is that you? I didn't expect you back… Oh!' They didn't release their hold on each other, just disengaged their lips and turned their heads to look at Martha and, standing right behind her, Captain Gates.

* * *

Captain Gates was very disappointed. She'd set up everything so well and they'd wasted the opportunity. If there was one thing that was more annoying than Castle and Beckett trying to hide their relationship, it was Castle and Beckett moping around because they were so useless at relationships. She was particularly unhappy as it was affecting the work of her best team. It was time for even more direct action but she needed a co-conspirator and there was really only one possible candidate so she picked up the phone.

'Mrs Rodgers? This is Victoria Gates.'

'Captain Gates, good morning. I'm afraid Richard isn't here.'

'Good. That makes things much easier. Is he with Detective Beckett?'

'Well, I cant say...'

'Please, Mrs Rodgers, I just need to know that she's all right.'

There was just a moment of hesitation on the line before Martha said, 'In that case, yes, he is.'

'Well, that's something. We need to talk.'

* * *

'Please, call me Martha. Mrs Rodgers makes me feel my age and that's something I avoid as much as possible.' Martha, resplendent in an orange and green kaftan, poured coffee and they sat opposite each other in Castle's office.

'I'm Victoria. Mrs_, Martha, do you mind if I speak bluntly?' Gates undid the button of her black blazer to reveal her perfectly pressed white blouse.

'I do hope you will. It makes life much more interesting.'

'You and I both know that I know about your son and Detective Beckett. They think they're being discreet… If it wasn't obvious before – which I can tell you, it was – that dreadful kidnapping made the depth of their involvement very clear. Beckett was a wreck while your son was in Paris. She's clearly in love with him.'

'I know and he with her.' Martha stirred her coffee, keeping her eyes on the Captain.

'But something has happened to throw them off track and it's affecting my precinct. Detective Beckett didn't even show up for work this morning and she's never done that before. I didn't call her on the off chance that they might actually be trying to sort out their problems but, even though they're together, I have little faith in them coming up with a solution. I tried my best to help them on their way but… Do you know what the problem is?'

'Captain Gates – Victoria – as we're speaking bluntly, I have to admit that you surprise me. You realise that they think that if you find out about them you'll toss Richard out, fated to spend the rest of his days at his keyboard?' Martha gestured dramatically towards his desk and rolled her eyes.

'Of course I do and I might still do that, but the reality is that the way they are right now is no good for any of us. So what do we do about it?' Gates, elbows on her knees, leant forward, staring intently at Martha.

'I'm not sure there's a lot we can do. They do seem to have an incredible ability to make the simplest thing as complicated as possible. You know, he was in love with her for years before he plucked up courage to tell her. And then she pretended that she didn't hear him! The number of times I've felt like banging their heads together…'

'I know that feeling!'

'But this time I really don't know what happened. One day they're fine and then the next they're tiptoeing around each other as if they're scared something's about to crack. On past history, this could take a long time to sort… Ah, sounds like the door. Kate hasn't spent much time here lately so it'll probably just be Richard.'

'Richard, is that you?''

* * *

Kate instinctively stepped away from Castle, dropping her head and running her hand through her hair. He just stood and stared at the Captain, slack jawed and wide eyed. Their resolve to tell her about their relationship and the fact that what she'd just seen had done that for them, were both forgotten as nearly a year of habit took over and they both tried to think of some way out of this.

'Good afternoon, Mr Castle. And Detective Beckett, nice to see you. I had thought I'd see you at the precinct this morning but I guess you must have had something more important to do.'

Martha turned to look at the Captain. She sounded terrifying but such an experienced actress can always spot a tell and the twinkle in Gates' eye and twitch of her lips were enough to assure her she was enjoying herself. Kate's hand had flown to her mouth and her eyes to Castle's.

'But… but it's Thursday. I booked a leave day…'

'You did indeed but today is Wednesday. Something else on your mind perhaps? Would you both please join me in my… in your office, Mr Castle.'

Martha gave her a thumbs up and a wink, before turning back to her son and his lover, her face instantly deadly serious, like an actor switching masks in a Greek tragedy. She bit her lip and half closed her eyes as they passed her, conveying she hoped that she felt their pain.

'Um, Captain, what…why are you _here_?' Castle asked as they followed her into his office and she pushed the door but didn't completely close it. Martha would want to hear this.

'Sit.' She ordered, choosing to seat herself at Castle's desk, and they both obeyed, Kate taking the other office chair and Castle balancing awkwardly on the arm of the easy chair.

'To answer your question, Mr Castle, I came here looking for my missing detective and it seems that I came to the right place. Would you like to explain what's going on?'

'Not really.' Castle answered automatically, swallowing nervously when she narrowed her eyes at him.

'You have both been lying to me.'

'Not lying exactly. Just not quite telling…' said Kate, before being quelled by the same deadly glare.

'What am I to understand by that display I've just witnessed?'

Castle reached across to take Kate's hand, giving it a squeeze. Nobody had ever made him quake as much as Gates, not even his prep school headmaster, but now was the time to step up.

'What you can understand Captain is that I love your best detective and amazingly she loves me too.' He smiled at Kate and she grinned back at him before he turned his attention back to Gates. 'In fact, Beckett is moving in here today.'

'And I suppose you're going to live happily ever after,' she snapped, her tone shaking his courage. He opened his mouth to continue but nothing came out.

'That's the plan, Captain,' Kate said quietly, giving Castle an adoring look.

'And what do you think this means for your little arrangement at my precinct, Mr Castle? Do you think that I'm going to let you stay if you're romantically involved with one of my detectives? And not just any detective, but the one you call partner and follow around in the guise of research?'

Castle stood so that he could get closer to Kate, dropping his arm over her shoulders. She reached up to grasp his hand and he glanced down to give her a little nod of reassurance.

Turning his attention back to Gates he said, 'Captain Gates, I know you want to get rid of me and now you have your opportunity. If you want me gone I'll go, but Beckett and I make one helluva team. Detective Beckett was doing a fantastic job before I arrived and I know that she'll continue to be amazing without me. I'd love to have the chance to continue but I'll do whatever you say. Katherine Beckett with always be my muse and inspiration.' He bent down to kiss his muse lightly on the lips and was gratified to see the love shining through her misty eyes.

'A pretty speech, Mr Castle, as I might expect from someone in your er… profession. Detective Beckett, do you have anything to add?' Kate hadn't taken her eyes from Castle's face but now she turned to Gates, her chin up.

'Captain, Castle has helped us solve more cases than I can count in the last five years. We were doing a good job before but we do a better job together. Most of his theories are maybe a little… unusual but that's the bonus of having him around. He makes us look at things differently. He's changed us for the better. He's changed me for the better. We didn't mean to deceive you…'

'Well, actually we did,' Castle interjected.

'Yeah, er, that's true, but we thought that if you found out you'd get rid of Castle and um… so we…'

'So you acted as if you were just friends and colleagues?'

They looked at each other and nodded.

'What utter rubbish!'

'Sir?' Kate opened her eyes wide.

'I've known about you for months…'

'Who told?'

'Nobody told, Mr Castle. Nobody needed to. I have eyes in my head you know. I am a detective. I saw through your little charade a long time ago. You might think that not holding hands or kissing – though I did see you do both of those, by the way – would mean that I wouldn't notice what was going on in front of my nose but I see the way you look at each other and how you stand too close, and how you finish each other's sentences. Did you really think I was that stupid?'

'Well...Ouch!' Castle squealed, feeling Kate's nail dig into his palm. Gates looked from one to the other, enjoying their shock at her revelation, before she continued more quietly.

'But I've also seen how you always have the other's back and how you support each other so, for now, Mr Castle, I'm going to let you stay – but I'll be watching you. Closely. Detective Beckett, I was looking at your overtime record. You've accumulated some extra days leave. I'd like you both out of my sight for a while so don't let me see either of you before Monday.'

Kate and Castle stared at each other in silence as Gates picked up her bag and coat. She turned at the door to look back at them.

'By the way, I hope you enjoyed the champagne.'

Martha was waiting for her outside the door.

'That was a magnificent performance, Victoria. If you ever decide to change your career, the stage awaits.'

'Thank you. I think we can relax now, don't you? They seem to have managed to get themselves back on track.'

'Which means, I'd better make myself scarce for the next few days.' They laughed and air kissed each other's cheek.

* * *

'She knew? All this time she knew? All the stress of… That was all for nothing?' Kate was out of the chair, pacing the room.

'Champagne? She locked us in that cell on purpose. I knew it!' Castle was pacing too, gesticulating wildly with his hands.

'That was you're theory?'

'Well, not exactly. I thought she might have been meeting someone herself…'

'And she decided to take us with her?' Kate rolled her eyes.

'Yeah, maybe not. I hadn't quite worked out the details but I did know she was up to something.'

'Castle, do you realise what this means?' She came to a stop in front of him and looked up.

'It means I owe Gates a bottle of Veuve…'

'Castle! It means we don't have to hide anymore.' She took a step closer so they were almost touching.

'We can go anywhere we want together and don't have to worry about being seen. There'll be press, Kate. Page six photos. The writer and his muse. You won't like it.' He stroked her upper arm absently.

'I've got used to annoying writers before Castle.'

'Oh, you mean me. You never really thought I was annoying.'

'Really? Funny, I could have sworn I did.' She clasped her hands together behind his neck, leaning back to look up at him.

'No, you were just fighting your attraction to me. You were imagining little Castle babies…'

She pulled his head down to her. 'Just shut up?' she mumbled into his mouth.

'If you insist,' he breathed back, before locking his mouth on hers.

**That's definitely the last chapter. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've loved writing it. I will try to get back to Resolutions and Reflections now. I know that some of you have been waiting for that. **

**If any of you have got any suggestions for anything else you'd like me to write, please do let me know and I'll try to oblige. xx**


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